Half of motorists are spending up to €125 a month on petrol or diesel, as fuel prices rise, writes Conall Ó Fátharta.
A survey of 5,000 drivers, by the Automobile Association (AA), has found that 58% spend up to €125 every month on fuel.
Of this 58%, 18% typically spend between €50 and €75 per month on fuel, with 16.81% spending between €75 and €100.
One in 10 motorists faces monthly fuel costs of up to €250, while 8% typically spend between €200 and €250 on fuel in a month.
According to the AA’s monthly fuel prices update, a litre of petrol currently costs 134.9c, while diesel costs, on average, 123.4c per litre.
Half of motorists surveyed drive less than 500km in an average month.
One quarter said they drive between 250km and 500km per month, with a further 19.65% stating that they regularly drive less than 250km in a month.
At the other end of the scale, one in 12 motorists stated that their monthly driving would typically exceed 2,000km.
Commenting on the survey findings, AA director of consumer affairs, Conor Faughnan, said fuel and insurance were the two costs that have been hurting drivers in recent years and neither was addressed in the recent budget.
“Whenever we see fuel prices rise, the person who takes the brunt of the blame tends to be the shop-owner, but, in reality, over 60% of what motorists pay at the pump is made up of government taxes, including so called ‘emergency taxes’ introduced during the recession.
“Instead of making the long-overdue decision to at least partially remove these emergency-era taxes, government retained the status-quo and, as a result, little has been done to help ease the cost of commuting to work for those who rely on a car,” he said.
Mr Faughnan said the relatively low mileage clocked up by Irish motorists highlighted the possibilities for the electric car here.
“With proper investment in charging points across the country, and financial support for those who want to go electric, those with a monthly mileage of less than 500km could definitely be encouraged to abandon their petrol- or diesel-powered car in favour of a fully electric vehicle, or, at the very least, a hybrid.
“Unfortunately, in the latest budget very little was done to increase people’s interest in changing to an electric vehicle,” Mr Faughnan said.
