Fuel discount pass-through
Deputy O'Dowd and then Deputy Fergus O'Dowd criticised petrol dealers for not fully passing on the excise reduction and urged stronger enforcement. The Minister said the CCPC would shortly issue a statement, asked for evidence, and promised follow-up.
Petrol dealers are directly challenging the authority of this Government by not passing on the full discount to consumers, in many cases. The Government needs to show them its teeth. Instead of soft words and telephone calls, we need to ensure there are dawn raids by gardaí and that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, enters these companies.
They are directly challenging the Government's authority by pocketing this money. People in this country need to flood the CCPC with complaints because it will only act if it has those complaints. There is a war situation right around Europe. If the petrol retailers get away with it, God knows who the next crowd will be. The Minister must act to protect the ordinary people of this country. He must ensure the authority of this Government and insist the reduction is passed on to them.
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My understanding is that the CCPC will be issuing a statement shortly on this issue because it is leading to much public-----
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I was in contact with the CCPC today and it could not give me any comfort on that.
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The Deputy might just let me answer that. It will be issuing a communication, which is important, to allay public fears. If the Deputy has any particular evidence or examples-----
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-----he might direct them to the CCPC as well as our Department and we will follow up.