TD calls for mandatory 'PumpWatch' system to publish live fuel prices across Ireland
James Cox
Fianna Fáil TD Shay Brennan has called for the introduction of a mandatory national “PumpWatch” system that would require every petrol station in Ireland to publish its petrol and diesel prices in real time to a central public database.
Under the proposal, all forecourts would be legally required to submit their current pump prices and update them within 30 minutes of any change, creating a live national dataset that could be used by navigation apps, websites and consumer tools to show drivers the cheapest fuel nearby.
Ireland has about 1,200 petrol stations, "yet drivers currently have no practical way of comparing prices without physically passing forecourts on the road," the Dublin Rathdown TD said.
"Even small price differences can quickly add up, a 5 cent per litre difference on a typical 55-litre tank can mean a saving of almost €3 per fill."
Brennan said the proposal would introduce a simple and transparent system that would make fuel pricing more visible to motorists.
“Drivers should be able to see fuel prices before they reach the pump. PumpWatch would make that possible by requiring every station to publish their prices digitally and update them within 30 minutes of any change.
“PumpWatch won’t change the global price of oil or the underlying cost of fuel, but it is a small practical proposal that will give motorists a fighting chance to obtain the best value petrol or diesel in their area. When drivers can see prices clearly and in real time, competition between forecourts becomes much more transparent and those competitive pressures should temper optimistic price rises."
Transparency system
A similar transparency system is available in many other countries and has recently been introduced in the United Kingdom, where forecourts are required to submit live price data to a national platform that is used by mapping services, consumer apps and price comparison tools.
Brennan said Ireland could adopt the same approach quickly and with minimal cost by creating a national open data platform for pump prices.
Brennan said: “Petrol stations are already legally required to display their prices on large roadside signs. PumpWatch would simply mandate those same prices to be reported digitally so drivers can see them before they arrive.
“With more than 2.8 million vehicles on Irish roads, this is information that millions of motorists could use every day.”
PumpWatch needs to apply to every forecourt so drivers can rely on the information.
Brennan said the system should be mandatory to ensure full national coverage and reliable price information.
“A voluntary system would only give partial coverage. PumpWatch needs to apply to every forecourt so drivers can rely on the information wherever they are in the country," he said.
Brennan said he would now be engaging with Government colleagues and relevant agencies to explore how a mandatory national PumpWatch system could be introduced in Ireland, taking the recently implemented UK model as a practical example.
Fuel stations have been accused of price gouging with prices rocketing across the country despite the fact the Middle East crisis has not yet had an impact on delivery.
