There is “no excuse” for petrol “price gouging” following recent energy price increases, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Speaking to reporters after being asked about soaring energy costs, including home heating oil and gas, the Fianna Fáil leader said he was “very concerned” about the impact on households already struggling with bills.
He said there should not have been price hikes at the pumps given Ireland’s supply sources.
“Yeah, we’d be very concerned about that,” he said.
“And I think look, there’s no excuse for prices going up on the pumps yesterday or indeed anywhere because our oil is coming from the North Sea.”
Martin warned against companies taking advantage of consumers in the current climate.
“We don’t want any price gouging going on,” he said.
“We don’t want anyone taking unfair advantage over consumers and people because of this right now.”
He acknowledged that longer-term implications could arise if the international situation does not stabilise, but said current supply levels do not justify sudden increases.
“There will be implications from it over time if the situation doesn’t stabilise in the short term,” Martin said.
“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, and I will be talking to the Minister for Energy in relation to this.”
The Taoiseach said the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority had been asked to examine the sector for potential unfair pricing practices.
“We met with the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority yesterday and we’ve asked them to examine the industry and the sector in terms of any unfair pricing practices that are underway,” he said.
“The CRU already working with government in terms of an energy affordability task force, that was prior to the outbreak of the war, and there’s a lot of work going on in research of the market and at a European level a lot of work underway prior to the March Council in respect of the overall structures that govern energy prices.”
Energy prices have fluctuated in recent days amid wider geopolitical tensions, with concerns raised about the Iran war’s impact on fuel, heating oil and gas costs for consumers.
Ireland sources a significant portion of its oil from the North Sea, including supplies linked to Norway, while domestic energy policy continues to be shaped by both national regulators and European frameworks.
This week, both Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris, and Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee warned that if the war between Israel, the US and Iran drags on, the impact on global energy markets could hurt the Irish economy.