Government 'must act now' on 'extortionate' price of home heating oil, Dáil told

On Tuesday, the average cost of 500 litres of oil stood at €619, up from €495 on February 27. On Thursday, the oilprices.ie website reported an average price of €793.50. Picture: iStock

Families are seeing hundreds of euro added to the cost of home heating oil, the Dáil has been told.

During leaders' questions on Thursday, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the Government had been receiving "many reports across the country of what many people are referring to as price gouging" in response to the war in Iran and its knock-on impacts on oil imports.

Oil price comparison website oilprices.ie shows the average price of 500 litres of home heating oil has jumped significantly since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28.

On Tuesday, the average cost of 500 litres of oil stood at €619, up from €495 on February 27. On Thursday, the website reported an average price of €793.50.

Sinn Féin TD for Waterford David Cullinane raised the issue with Mr Harris on Thursday, saying the Government's response had been "out of touch" and households had seen prices surge in recent days.

"One household told me that on Saturday, they were quoted €525 for heating oil. Days later, the same supplier was charging €859. When prices jump like that in a matter of days, people draw a very obvious conclusion: somebody is cashing in on a crisis.

"It is not just one case. A worker who contacted me ordered oil at €498 at the weekend. Within days, the same supplier was charging €700. Another worker, a carer who travels long distances for her job, paid €447 for 500 litres last month. This week, she checked again and the price has jumped to over €800. For her, as she put it to me, higher diesel and heating costs mean she may now have to take a second job just to stay afloat.

"I also heard from pensioner households, who placed orders earlier this week, only to be told the price could not be confirmed until the day of delivery. When they checked again, the costs had nearly doubled. They had to cancel their order because they did not have the money to pay for it. This is the reality facing people today.

This is price gouging — companies exploiting a crisis to squeeze more profit out of households already under severe pressure. This is an emergency and a crisis for each and every one of those families.

In response, Mr Harris said there was "absolutely no doubt that the conflict in the Middle East and in the Gulf is going to have an economic impact" in relation to commodity prices, including oil and gas. He said his Department of Finance was examining the macro-economic outlook from the war.

"People are putting up the price and causing panic and fear for people, quite frankly. I have seen the text messages telling someone to get the fill of oil now or it is going to go up. That sort of behaviour is causing real concern as well," Mr Harris said.

Deputy leader of the Social Democrats Cian O'Callaghan said "people are now being charged absolutely extortionate prices for home heating oil".

"People are faced with a serious issue as to how they will heat their homes and where they will get the money to do so. The Tánaiste saying that he will monitor the situation and keep it under review is of no use to them. They need the Government to act now."

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Enterprise Minister Peter Burke has instructed the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to review Ireland’s retail energy market amid concerns about fuel hikes due to the war in Iran. On Thursday, Mr Burke said he hoped this would be a short investigation.

“I think we really need to look at what's happening in the market place right now because what's very clear to me over the last number of days, what's happening in the international markets in terms of the price of crude oil bears no reflection what's happening in the Irish market where we've seen [increases] upwards of 50% by some consumers from their suppliers."