Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 1 Jun 1993

Vol. 431 No. 6

Written Answers. - Petroleum Product Prices.

Michael Noonan

Ceist:

110 Mr. Noonan (Limerick East) asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the Irish tax exclusive price of a litre of petrol and auto diesel for each of the first four months of 1993; the comparative prices for Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom; and the percentage differential, if any, between the price in Ireland and in each of these countries.

Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications (Mr. Cowen)

The information requested is detailed in the following table.

It is important to remember that comparisons between prices and price trends in different countries require care. This warning is specifically included in the EC Commission's Oil Bulletin Petrolier from which the data has been obtained. Such comparisons are of limited validity, not only because of fluctuations in exchange rates, but also because of differences in product quality, in marketing practices, in market structure and the extent to which standard categories of sales are representative of total national sales of a given product.

In addition, high wholesale and retail margins, high distribution costs and low throughput at retail sites, all combine to increase petroleum product prices in Ireland in comparison with other EC countries.

Selling Prices of Petroleum Products in ECUs per Litre Excluding Taxes

Country	Premium Gasoline	Automotive Gasoil
Jan. '93	Feb. '93	Mar. '93	April '93	Jan. '93	Feb. '93	Mar. '93	April '93
Ireland	0.26	0.24	0.26	0.26	0.28	0.27	0.28	0.28
Belgium	0.23 (-12%)	0.24 (0%)	0.24 (-8%)	0.24 (-8%)	0.23 (-18%)	0.23 (-15%)	0.24 (-14%)	0.24 (-14%)
Denmark	0.24 (-8%)	0.25 (+4%)	0.25 (-4%)	0.25 (-4%)	0.25 (-11%)	0.25 (-7%)	0.26 (-7%)	0.25 (-11%)
Germany	0.20 (-23%)	0.20 (-17%)	0.21 (-19%)	0.22 (-15%)	0.20 (-29%)	0.20 (-26%)	0.20 (-29%)	0.21 (-25%)
Netherlands	0.23 (-12%)	0.24 (0%)	0.24 (-8%)	0.24 (-8%)	0.22 (-21%)	0.23 (-15%)	0.23 (-18%)	0.23 (-18%)
UK	0.20 (-23%)	0.20 (-17%)	0.22 (-15%)	0.20 (-23%)	0.22 (-21%)	0.21 (-22%)	0.23 (-18%)	0.21 (-25%)

Notes:

1. Figures in brackets show percentage differential between Irish and other country prices.

2. Exchange rates at:

(a) Jan. '93 1 ECU =.743438 IR£, 40.4079 FB, 7.60499 CD, 1.96309 DM, 2.20637 FL, .775477£.

(b) Feb. '93 1 ECU =.797810 IR£, 40.0731 FB, 7.44796 CD, 1.94280 DM, 2.18726 FL, .827821£.

(c) March '93 1 ECU =.798255 IR£, 39.9324 FB, 7.45762 CD, 1.93952 DM, 2.18015 FL, .812752£.

(d) April '93 1 ECU =.799778 IR£, 40.1359 FB, 7.48243 CD, 1.95041 DM, 2.19141 FL, .790575£.

Source: Commission of the European Communities, Oil Bulletin Petrolier.