15-05-2025
Border petrol stations going bust over price gulf with the North
Filling stations along the border are going bust thanks to petrol being 25% cheaper in the North – with more closures to come, the industry has warned Stakeholders say higher duty and carbon taxes on southern garages have made a tank around €15 cheaper in the North – enough to spark 'fuel tourism' of crossing the border for cheaper prices.
The average petrol price in the North is currently 128.7p per litre, while the average price of diesel is 133.4p per litre, the lowest since 2021.
The average fuel price in the Republic is 180c a litre for petrol and 177c for diesel. At current exchange rates, that makes Northern garages cheaper by around 27c a litre for petrol and 30c for diesel. Pic: Getty Images
At the average fuel tank capacity of 55 litres, a fill-up from empty on the Northern side of the border would save almost €15 on petrol and €16.50 on diesel.
The Republic's Department of Transport said it was important to note a number of factors affect the final retail price of fuels, including energy market dynamics, wholesale pricing, individual retail pricing policy, transport costs, exchange rate fluctuations and taxation.
A spokesman for Fuels for Ireland, which represents the major petrol retailers in the country, said: 'The overwhelming reason for this [the price gap] is the difference in tax. The price of petrol and diesel goes up from midnight. Pic: Ray Tang/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
There is also the fact that we have a far higher renewable obligation on transport fuel than they do [in the North]; we use more biofuel, and that's a little bit more expensive.'
Over the term of the last government, from February 2020 until November 2024, new taxes added about 15c to a litre of fuel, putting Ireland in the top three most expensive countries for fuel taxes and the highest pump prices in the EU.
The Fuels for Ireland spokesman added: 'Yes, the Government needs to get an income from fuel, it's been relying on it for decades, it's not going to change. Pic: Getty Images
We also need to support the transition to renewable fuels, which is an existential need, but then we also have to make sure that Irish householders and businesses can continue to live and operate.'
David Blevings, spokesman for the Irish Petrol Retailers' Association (IPRA), which represents independent garages, said: 'The IPRA is very concerned for petrol stations located in the border counties.
They are closing. 'The price differential between motor fuel in the North and South is almost 25%. The stations in border areas cannot compete. This is causing hundreds of job losses in areas that have no replacement jobs to offer.' Pic: Getty Images
Mr Blevings said that 'we have asked our members to lobby their local TD to ask the Finance Minister [Paschal Donohoe] how many fuel stations in border locations have closed and what plans he has to rectify this duty differential so that no more businesses have to close'.
'There are some closures already and there'll be more to come,' he added.
The organisation has already had talks with the Government about the level of duty and carbon taxes.
Minister Donohoe is due to meet with industry representatives in the next few weeks to discuss the tax situation and the effect it is having at the border.
The price disparity was the reason for the Texaco filling station in Muff, Co. Donegal – which straddles the border – closing recently after 25 years, with the loss of 50 jobs.
Owner Colm McKenna told RTÉ: 'We were in business here in Muff since 1999 and when the excise duty costs were better for us in the south, it was viable, but the large difference [in] excise duty and the carbon taxes now meant we had to close, because we lost €100,000 last year. We had no choice.'
