Government urged to revisit 'outdated' one-off €125 fuel allowance payment

The Government has been urged to revisit the payment and look at increasing the amount for the most vulnerable households. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Social welfare recipients will see an additional payment in their weekly rate from Monday morning.

The Government's one-off fuel allowance payment of €125 comes into effect on Monday, with up to 372,000 recipients.

However, Labour Party TD Duncan Smith said while the payment was welcomed, it is not enough as the war in Ukraine impacts prices.

"This payment was announced over a month ago, prior to the Russian war on Ukraine, which has seen a spiralling cost for the likes of domestic heating oil, domestic gas prices," he said.

"Most recently, we have seen an increase in the price of a bag of coal, which will be up 50% based on prices six months ago.

"This payment unfortunately is out of date."

Mr Smith urged the Government to revisit the payment and look at increasing the amount for the most vulnerable households.

Meanwhile, the price of a litre of fuel at Irish petrol stations could hit €2.60 by the end of next month, according to the head of an Irish oil firm.

Petrol and diesel topped €2 recently, prompting a cut in excise duty.

Paddy Comyn from the AA said prices had come down significantly in recent days across the country.

He said they could rise again but such a dramatic increase would depend on a number of factors.

"It depends on the volatility of the market with Russia and Ukraine but I think a lot of the concerns were down to the fact that there was worry over supply if people decided to boycott Russia in terms of buying petrol or diesel," said Mr Comyn.

"We have seen diesel go up as a result of that but I think it's a little early to be speculating about prices and that just yet."

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission reported it received 83 complaints in relation to fuel prices over the past week.