Typical Irish motorist spending €193.65 per month on fuel

A typical Irish motorist is now spending around €193.65 per month on fuel as both diesel and unleaded fuel costs continued to climb this month.

A litre of petrol now costs an average of 129.1c, up 3.1c, while diesel rose by 2.1c to 113.2c, according to the AA’s survey of national fuel prices.

The survey added that growing pump prices are a result of the recent rise in the cost of oil which is now sitting at $47 per barrel, up from $44 last month.

The AA also found that a monthly average of €4.65 has now been added to the cost of filling up a car that runs on 150 litres of petrol per month. A typical Irish motorist is now spending around €193.65 per month on the fuel.

AA director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan said changes in the global oil market were "far removed" from consumers.

“Huge trades made on international exchanges are far removed from the consumer,” he said. “In fact, you can sometimes see price movements even throughout a single day as trading can get spooked in response to headlines.

“The bigger issue is tax, and of your €190 or so monthly fuel bill, nearly €130 goes directly to the Government in tax. If oil pursues its current pattern, we could see fuel prices continue to accumulate well into 2016.

“We would like to see the new Government remove the austerity taxes slapped on between 2008 and 2012 by their predecessors. This is nothing short of an anti-stimulus measure and is effectively taking money out of the pockets of consumers.”