Motorists facing 10c fuel hike in September as excise duty cuts rolled back

The cuts to fuel excise duties introduced as a cost of living measure in April are to be fazed out in the coming months, with the first of three staged price hikes beginning in September.

There will be a nine cent increase per litre of petrol and a 10 cent increase per litre of diesel on the 1st September.

This will be followed by additional rising prices the following month on 1st October with a further eight cent increase on both petrol and diesel.

On 1st November, petrol per litre will increase by a further five cent, while diesel will rise by seven cent for the same volume.

December will see the final month of increases, with petrol rising by a further five cent, and diesel a further seven cent.

The total increases will be 27 cent for petrol, and 32 cent for diesel in a four-month period.

Reductions were originally supposed to expire at the end of July have been extended to September, following an agreement between coalition leaders for a new date of 1st September.

The cuts were introduced in April following demonstrations from those in the agricultural industry who were feeling the blow from heightened fuel costs due to the US and Israel attacking Iran.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the extension came as a result of these protests earlier this year, as "people power pressure."

Tóibín said while speaking at Leinster House, "It is an exact function of that, and the reason why we have an extension, and it's only an extension for a month, is because the Government is fearful that during the summer they will see a similar people power exercise.

"I actually think that the Government is snookered in this situation, that they're unlikely to actually raise it fully until the end of the European presidency, because the Government is putting a lot of political capital on a successful European presidency."

He finished by saying, "The last thing that they want is to give people an excuse to come onto the streets during that European presidency."

Tóibín added that his party will introduce a Private Members' Bill to attempt to stop any excise duty increases in the future at the Dáil tomorrow [Wednesday].