A campaign to make the public aware of petrol pump prices so that they can shop around and save up to £5 on a tank-full has been called for by Fianna Fail TD Mr Noel Ahern.
Mr Ahern yesterday advised motorists to shop around and help bring down petrol prices.
"Petrol prices have increased to approximately 70p for a litre of petrol over the last year but there are huge differences in the price of petrol at the pumps," he said.
Most people seemed to accept the inevitability of paying for a tank of petrol and would be unaware of the difference in the price of a litre of petrol.
Mr Ahern said the Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, had said she intended using her own office's resources to make people more conscious of the price they were paying for petrol.
"A campaign of petrol pump price awareness is required so that the purchasing public will make cost-conscious choices and not just purchase out of habit," he added.
Shoppers knew the price of a litre of milk, the price of a loaf of bread, the cost of a newspaper and the price of a pint of stout but few people realised the money they were spending on petrol.
"A cost-conscious campaign would make the motorist more aware and in turn drive the price of petrol down," said Mr Ahern.