Exact date Ireland petrol and diesel prices to rise again - litre could hit €2

There are growing fears petrol and diesel prices in Ireland could hit €2 per litre before the end of the year amid rising costs and the lifting of Government excise cuts.

In 2022, the Government intervened to cut excise prices on fuel to bring the price at the pumps down for hard-pressed motorists. However, does excise cuts are being reversed on a rolling basis with the latest one adding 7c a litre to the price of petrol and 5c to the price of diesel on September 1.

There isn't long to wait with the next planned hike on October 31 when prices will rise again by 8c a litre for petrol and 6c for diesel. With prices at the pumps already surpassing €1.80 a litre, there are fears among motorists of prices eventually hitting the €2 mark.

Blake Boland of the AA has previously warned that when those October price hikes come into effect, fuel costs will likely exceed €1.90.

"We don't know yet if it's going to be a warm or cold winter, but after October, it is possible we could see fuel prices exceeding €2 once again," he said.

"While prices have remained steady throughout the summer, there is a lot more uncertainty going into the next few months."

He said prices have been slowly creeping up and that trend could continue over the winter months.

The Taoiseach has given the clearest signal yet that the Government may intervene to prevent the price of fuel surpassing €2 a litre.

At a Fine Gael think-in in Limerick, Leo Varadkar said: "One of the prices that I am very aware of, and I know all of my colleagues are very aware of, is the price of petrol and diesel.

"It’s the price that's in your face every day as you drive down the road and it is tacking back up again, in part because some of the temporary tax cuts have been reversed but also because the price of oil is going up again.

"If you remember, we cut excise around the time it hit €2. I wouldn’t like to see us put excise up to hit €2 again and then to have to bring it down again. So I think what we’ll do between now and Budget Day is really monitor prices at the pump and that will allow us on Budget Day to make that decision."