Kildare taxi drivers and garages criticise fuel price hikes

The staggering rise in fuel prices nationwide has prompted outcry from a number of taxi drivers and garages based in Kildare.
Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has resulted in supply issues relating to oil and gas from eastern Europe permeating throughout all areas of the EU, and Kildare is no exception. In just over two weeks, Ireland has seen petrol and diesel costs  increase by as much as 40 cents per litre.

Extra Costs
Speaking to the Leader, Marty Kelly of Marty’s Cabs in Newbridge revealed that the recent increases are costing his company an extra €80 a week on each car.
Another Kildare taxi driver, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “There’s not much we can do, we just have to get on with it. But I’m not impressed with the situation, it can’t be positive (for other taxi drivers).”
Another taxi driver who also wished to remain anonymous added: “Every driver here is worried about these changes.”

‘Outrageous’
Meanwhile, Paddy Campbell of Campbell’s Cabs in Newbridge referred to the current situation as being ‘outrageous’.
He explained: “We have gone up by €8 to go anywhere in Newbridge.
“it’s not fair on the customers, and it’s not fair on our drivers, between dealing with Covid-19 and now this.

Wrong
“It’s all wrong, and it’s easy for the government to make these decisions when they’re not here witnessing it from our point of view.”
He also questioned how drivers will be able to keep themselves warm while waiting at a taxi-rank for customers without keeping the engine running, if fuel prices continue to increase.

A Newbridge garage owner echoed the sentiments expressed by one of the previously named anonymous taxi drivers.
The businessman, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is an international issue, there is not much we can do, we just have to wait for it to pass over.

“If the government had not reduced the excise duty, you would have been looking at prices of around €2.27.
“It is very volatile, it’s not about the price for us, it is about getting it in. We just need to make sure that we have it,” he added.

The Leader surveyed prices across two of Kildare’s major towns, Naas and Newbridge on March 7. Newbridge showed a significantly higher average of €1.99 per litre for both petrol and diesel across the four fuel stations surveyed.

Slightly lower
Naas, across the six fuel stations surveyed, averaged slightly lower at €1.94 per litre for petrol and €1.92 per litre for diesel.
On March 9, the government announced that excise duty would be reduced by 20 cent per litre of petrol and 15 cent per litre of diesel. There was also a reduction of 2 cent in the excise duty charged on marked gas oil. It was announced that these reductions will remain in place until the August 31.

Surveyed
The excise duty on petrol and diesel largely only offset a price jump and did not reduce prices from the ones surveyed originally last Monday.
As was mentioned by the Newbridge garage owner, the excise duty reduction merely maintained existing figures due to a scheduled price hike.
Fuel prices across the county currently remain around or slightly below the €2 per litre mark.
Liam Fitzpatrick, of Junction 14 Mayfield, at Monasterevin, has said that in his 30 years of business he has never seen a price increase at this rate before.

Households
“I have seen fuel prices rise 50 cent in the first 10 days of this month, it is unprecedented. We understand the awful strain on households and our margin remains the same of four to five cent per litre. We don’t want these huge prices because we buy it and are under pressure to sell it quickly before the value drops. We’d rather it was €1 per litre,” he said.

TD response
Kildare Minister of State for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, also commented on the increase in prices.
Defending the government’s excise duty cuts, the Fine Gael politician told the Leader: “The reductions we brought in on excise duty on petrol and diesel was the most we could under EU taxation laws.
“Only 4.7 cent of green diesel is excise so a two cent drop was the most we could do on that; any further possible interventions on it, will require broader EU agreement which we are working with our colleagues in Europe on,” Minister Heydon explained.