A LOCAL COUNCILLOR has blasted yet another increase in the cost of fuel here, and questioned why diesel is more expensive than unleaded in the county, something, she claimed, that is not seen anywhere else in Europe.
Independent Councillor, Bernice Swift, is alarmed that motorists in Fermanagh are paying through the nose for ever-increasing fuel rises.
This week when price comparisons of the two fuels were checked by the Fermanagh Herald they showed a disparity among filling stations within the county, sometimes by as much as six pence a litre for diesel.
And, to compound the problem, across the border, in Swanlinbar, unleaded was working out at just over three pence a litre cheaper than diesel.
Now Fermanagh District Council has taken up the campaign and written to the Northern Ireland Executive for an explanation.
“We, the consumers, are continually penalised by ever-increasing pump prices, and it is high time that the Office of Fair Trading addresses the key issues of why diesel is more expensive than unleaded here when this is not the case anywhere else in Europe,” said Ms Swift.
She went on: “Fermanagh people are making decisions whether or not to travel around Fermanagh based on the amount/cost of fuel it takes to make any trip, be it business or social. Only the very necessary trips to towns are practical and just about affordable for a lot of people.
“The question must be asked: why falls in the oil price take so long to be reflected at the pump, and why there are serious fluctuations in the price sometimes, even at the same branded stations in the same locality?”
This paper took a cursory sample of pumps we visited at the weekend.
In Enniskillen, for instance, there was a 5.2p per litre variation in the price of diesel and a 7p per litre variation in the price of unleaded.
In Newtownbutler, diesel was trading this week at 1.45.9 per litre and unleaded at 1.39.9, not that much different from prices in Lisnaskea, where pumps operate at three locations. However, here there was was a variation of 3p per litre for diesel and 1p per litre for unleaded between two filling stations about 200 metres apart.
Councillor Swift suggested there was a need for a greater price transparency.
“These massive rises should be explained and justified to those of us who especially have extra long distances to travel, considering our Fermanagh demographics.”
She then suggested a special dispensation for Fermanagh motorists.
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