When the outlook for fuel prices is so uncertain, the Government faces tricky decisions on how to help motorists. Something to help less well-off households and a temporary cut in excise duty may be on the way, along with specific measures aimed at hauliers and exposed businesses. The first thing to understand about higher energy prices is the obvious one – they are a cost to an energy-importing country like Ireland. Wholesale energy prices could be back around pre-war levels by summer or way higher than they are now. Electricity and domestic natural gas prices have not increased yet and are unlikely to do so for some time.

Source: The Irish Times March 21, 2026 17:59 UTC