As Western countries consider a ban on Russian oil, fuel prices continue to skyrocket. The price of oil jumped more than eight per cent on Monday, reaching its highest level since 2008. Over the weekend a number of service stations were selling petrol and diesel at more than €2 a litre. Speaking about the rise in prices, Paddy Comyn, head of communications at AA Ireland, said that paying €2 for a litre could become the norm. "It would look like that because we are seeing the price of a barrel of oil hit almost $130 a barrel and that translates to prices close to, or if not above, €2 a litre across the board on average," Mr Comyn explained. "Now, we haven't got there yet, but the signs look like [it] will get there, and we are seeing filling stations with that sort of pricing already, and we saw it over the weekend, especially in places like Newbridge, Co Kildare where we saw several stations with that sort of pricing." According to Mr Comyn, there are a couple of factors pushing the price surge. "Obviously the Ukraine-Russia situation is potentially causing the markets to be upset and also there are some discussions about there being sanctions against Russian oil coming into Europe and elsewhere. "What that may do is further increase the price because it is a case of supply and demand, so we might see the price of a barrel of oil increase. "In Ireland we pay about 60 per cent tax [on fuel], so as the price of a barrel of oil increases, the equivalent price increases here."

Pressure valve

With people already struggling with the cost of living in Ireland, Mr Comyn highlighted how those in rural communities will take a hard hit with increasing fuel prices "In some cases, people just have to get around, so it might be that [driving] is at the expense of something else," Mr Comyn said. "Rural communities are particularly badly hit because they may not have an alternative in terms of public transport. "If you live in Dublin you have multiple buses, the Luas, the Dart, cycle lanes, whereas if you are in a rural area you may not have the equivalent options to get around. "People on lower incomes and rural areas will feel the pinch more because they just have to get around. "Once you are getting into €2 per litre, for the average car, you are talking about €100 a tank, so that's quite a significant leap from where we were before. "AA Ireland is calling on the Government to take a look at if the duty on petrol or diesel can be reduced to take the pressure off motorists because the costs are increasing dramatically," he said. "I don't think it is a long term solution, but I think, in the short term, there is nothing the Government can do about the price of a barrel of oil, that is out of their control. "But what they can control is the duty and the tax they put on it. "For now there needs to be some pressure valve to take the press off the average motorist who is being hit by energy prices and energy increase across the board."