The latest fuel price survey by the AA shows that Irish drivers now have to spend almost 20c more per litre on diesel than on petrol.
€126 more per year for diesel users
Diesel now costs, on average, €2.02 per litre across the country, representing a rise of four per cent in the past month. Compared to October last year, petrol is 11 per cent more expensive, but diesel's pump cost has risen by 30 per cent in the same period.
If you're driving a petrol car, according to the AA's calculations, the average Irish motorist will have to spend €2,210 each year to keep their tank filled. The figure for a diesel driver is €2,020 - €126 more than they were spending in October 2021. The calculation presumes that a diesel car will travel, on average, around 850km on a tank vs 700km in petrol, which is why even though diesel is more expensive, the consumer is still likely to use less of it for the same average 17,000km per year.
Affecting large numbers of motorists
"We have seen quite a spike in the price of diesel in the last month, even though petrol prices have remains largely stagnant over the same period," said AA Ireland Head of Communications, Paddy Comyn. "Sales of diesel cars were very much in the majority from 2008 until quite recently, so these high fuel prices will be affecting large numbers of motorists nationally, at a time when energy prices are rising across the board."
Global diesel shortage
Why is there such a huge disparity in diesel and petrol prices? That, says the AA, is because of a surplus of current petrol production, while diesel production has fallen. According to Reuters, diesel production is being squeezed thanks to "rapid growth in fuel consumption as a result of the manufacturing and freight-led recovery after the coronavirus pandemic." Refinery closures and short-staffing, which came about because of the pandemic, have meant that total global diesel production capacity has fallen sharply.