More than 2,500 drivers caught using agricultural green diesel in domestic vehicles

Tax is paid at a much cheaper rate for marked gas oil, or green diesel. It can be used for farming purposes, but not on road vehicles, and is dyed green to deter its misuse. Picture: Rachel Martin

More than 2,500 drivers have been caught using agricultural green diesel in domestic vehicles since 2020, with nearly €2m paid in settlement fees and a further €1.3m in fines handed out by the courts.

Tax is paid at a much cheaper rate for marked gas oil, or green diesel. It can be used for farming purposes, but not on road vehicles, and is dyed green to deter its misuse.

Revenue samples fuel in vehicles at checkpoints and figures supplied to Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly show more than 130,000 samples have been taken since 2020, with 2,500 falling foul of the law.

According to a response from the Department of Finance, it is an offence under section 102 (as amended) of the Finance Act 1999, to "use marked mineral oil as a propellant for a motor vehicle, or to keep it in the fuel tank of a vehicle".

Anyone found guilty of the offence is liable for a fine of up to €5,000.

However, Revenue told the department the action it takes "depends on the specific circumstances of the particular case".

"In the case of a first detection of marked mineral oil in the fuel tank of a private vehicle, or in certain other cases, they may offer the person concerned an opportunity to resolve the matter by way of payment of a compromise sum, in lieu of prosecution."

The figures show 1,601 of those caught paid settlement fees of more than €1.9m.

But the reply adds in cases where the fuel is found in the fuel tank of a commercial vehicle, the "normal course would be to proceed by way of the institution of a prosecution". 

A total of 493 fines have been handed out by the courts since 2020 to a value of over €1.3m.

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