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MEMBERS OF THE Opposition have called for Government to consider introducing targeted energy supports for Irish households in response to rising oil prices.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman told reporters that energy supports must be considered by government, stating that a one-off boost to the fuel allowance or targeted energy credits are options to consider.
He said when energy credits were first introduced, they were introduced “in a hurry” as it was the simplest way of getting money to households.
“Now, at this stage, I imagine that the departments in question have been able to gather some degree of data in terms of, if you wanted to use these in a more targeted manner, how would you do so?
“So I think it could be looking at either option, but I think it has to be on the table now, at least particularly if this war lasts for a significant amount of time, and the energy spikes that we’ve seen in the last three or four days are maintained.”
Labour TD George Lawlor said politicians have been fielding calls from people who have seen their home heating oil costs increase in recent days.
One pensioner he spoke to said they paid €75 more yesterday for 300 litres of oil than they would have paid on Friday.
“This is despite the fact that the war was about 48 hours old, and yet the oil companies were gouging people already,” he said.
He called on the government to intervene, stating it has the power to do so under the Consumer Protection Act 2007.
Jennifer Whitmore of the Social Democrats expressed similar sentiments and said companies and retailers are “apparently price gouging when it comes to heating oil on the back of this war”.
“We heard reports of home heating oil going up by 10 to 20% pretty much overnight. Now I want to be very clear the home heating oil that people are using, and where we saw the spikes, that home heating oil was in the stocks of those retailers. There was no rationale or reason to increase those prices to that extent,” she said.
Prices at the pumps
This morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned filling stations against price gouging as crude oil prices rise in response to war in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters before Cabinet, the Taoiseach said government is “very concerned” at the increase in energy prices since the US and Israel began war with Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world’s oil supply passes, has been shut by Iran. Yesterday, crude oil prices were about 10% higher than before the conflict began, and remain at a similar level today.
However, wholesale prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene have not gone up by the same amount. The wholesale price is influenced by the wider global economy, as well as shipping and supply.
Martin said: “There’s no excuse for prices going up on the pumps yesterday, or anywhere, because our oil is coming from the North Sea, and we don’t want any price gouging going on.
“We don’t want anyone taking unfair advantage over consumers and people because of this.”
He said there will be increases in fuel prices over time “if the situation doesn’t stabilise in the short term”.
“But given the fact that people have an adequacy of supplies right now, and given that a lot of our oil is coming from North Sea, which comes from Norway, there shouldn’t be these kind of increases that people have been commenting on yesterday.”
Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie
Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie / © RollingNews.ie
He said he has spoken to the Minister for Energy regarding this and met with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) yesterday, where they asked the CCPC to “examine the industry and the sector in terms of any unfair pricing practices that is underway”.
Speaking earlier this morning on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Minister Neale Richmond said the increase in fuel and energy prices was “concerning”.
Asked if he thought the increase was the result of price gouging, Richmond said, “No, that’s not what I said at all.”
He said he expected prices to go up given the instability in the region and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “I can imagine that the energy companies are looking at a situation that is extremely volatile and has escalated rapidly over the last four days,” he said.
He said it was up to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, the energy regulator, to keep an eye on the situation.
Yesterday, both Finance Minister Simon Harris and CEO of Fuels for Ireland Kevin McPartlan warned that the situation remains dynamic and could change at any moment.
Harris said he had instructed his department to carry out an economic analysis of the situation, and they would “update our forecasting and our projections for the Irish economy by the end of the month”.
With reporting by Christina Finn
