PETROL prices are cheaper in the North than in the Republic of Ireland for the first time in years, but border retailers may not have to cut their prices to ensure they remain in business just yet.
Currently, petrol and diesel are 10 cents cheaper in the North, with the gap due to widen with a hike in excise duty in the Republic due on April 1 and the UK deciding to postpone fully restoring excise duty for 12 months.
This has put pressure on 390 border-based retailers in the Republic, but pressure is being put on the Irish government to scrap the rise in excise duty for the time being.
Monaghan Municipal District Council has voted unanimously to write to the Minister of Finance over the proposed increases to fuel excise duty coming into effect.
Independent councillor Paudge Connolly told Northern Sound that if the Irish government presses ahead with the two excise duty increases during the cost-of-living crisis then people in Cavan and Monaghan will go over the border to buy their fuel.
“I think that continuous pressure needs to be brought to bear [on the government],” Cllr Connolly explained to Northern Sound.
“The Consumer Association of Ireland have been lobbying, the fuel suppliers have been lobbying and I think when the council adds their voice to that, the voice of the elected people, when that’s added, they cannot continue to ignore it.
“Particularly now coming up to elections, the government have got to start listening to the people.”
Moves by motor fuel retailers on the Border to sell petrol and diesel at a loss to avoid losing business to Northern Irish forecourts has already sent the national average price of both fuels down in the Republic.
Meanwhile, the average price of petrol, diesel and home heating oil was largely unchanged across Northern Ireland last week, but road users here are also paying well below their counterparts in Britain.
The latest weekly fuel tracker survey from the Consumer Council suggests prices at Northern forecourts remained stable throughout much of March.
Diesel averaged £1.478 per litre in Northern Ireland over recent days, while the average price of petrol was £1.393 per litre.
The difference in the previous week was 0.1p in either direction in both cases.
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