‘Steady as she goes,’ says Taoiseach on oil supply

MICHEÁL Martin has moved to quell any fears about supply shortages, saying ‘we’re steady as she goes’.

During a visit to Rosslare Europort yesterday, the Taoiseach, right, was asked if he had any concerns about the run-up to Christmas, and he stressed: ‘We’re not getting the same impacts as are currently happening in the UK.

‘There’s no doubt that the bounce-back of the European economy and the global economy in terms of Covid-19 has created a whole lot of disruption to supply chains.’

Mr Martin added: ‘To be fair to everybody, there’s a broader issue than just Brexit. But I think the Brexit situation has exacerbated the situation in the UK in terms of personnel for HGV drivers... and indeed other sectors of the UK economy.’

His view about supplies was echoed by Anna Cullen of AA Ireland yesterday, who said that petrol prices are have increased by 24.8% since this time last year, while diesel prices are up 24.8%.

AA Ireland said demand for oil has increased and will continue to rise further.

‘In the UK, there is the issue of petrol supply shortage and long queues were witnessed buying fuel amid fears it might run out. This has been labelled as “‘panic buying”’. We are assured that the issues facing the UK aren’t a problem for us here in Ireland, so consumers don’t need to worry,’ said Ms Cullen.

The three-year high for oil prices came as OPEC, a wider group of oil exporters including Russia, Mexico, Brunei and Malaysia, forecast that global demand for crude would exceed 2019 levels in 2023, and would continue to rise until 2035 before plateauing.

Ms Cullen said: ‘Petrol prices in this country are at an average of 155.9 cents per litre and diesel is at 144.9 cents per litre. Prices have jumped 24.8% since this time last year for petrol and 24.4% for diesel in the same period. This time 12 months ago the average petrol price was 124.9 cents per litre, while diesel was at 116.5.’

It comes as the number of new cars registered in the country for the first nine months of 2021 is up 19.1% on the same period in 2020. However, registrations are down 11.7% compared to the period from January to September in 2019.