Peter Barry
Question:123 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Energy if he agrees with the statement made by the head of a petrol company that Irish motorists have to pay a penalty because of the compulsory take-off from the Whitegate refinery.
Written Answers. - Motor Fuel Prices.
It is Government policy to keep an operational refinery capacity in Ireland as a security of supply measure. Whitegate is operated in a limited mode in fulfilment of this objective, and for this reason, and not being an upgraded facility, there is a diseconomy associated with its operations. The diseconomy, contrasted against Rotterdam prices plus freight, varies from time to time, but a general idea of the scale can be got from the report of the Fair Trade Commission on the Supply and Distribution of Motor Fuels, which estimated that, over the four year period examined, the diseconomy was 0.54 pence per litre, or 0.145 pence per litre if the 90 day strategic storage (towards which its stocks are allowed to be reckoned) and other costs were included.