Displayed at the roadside
Irish law requires petrol and diesel prices to be visible to passing drivers.
The FuelWatch manifesto
Ireland should require stations to report their fuel prices.
FuelWatch prices depend on the last person who reported them. The Republic of Ireland has no mandatory public pump-price feed, so drivers have to supply the updates themselves.
Report a price →The price you see
A map cannot know that a pump price has changed.
You check a station on FuelWatch, arrive at the forecourt and find a different price. That is frustrating. The number on the map is the latest price someone submitted; it is not an automatic reading from the pump.
The Government does not require petrol stations in the Republic of Ireland to report changes to a public database. FuelWatch receives no automatic notification when a station changes its sign. Until a driver sends an update, an older report can remain on the map.
We show report dates so you can judge how recent a price is. Reports can also contain mistakes. A public feed would improve access to current prices, while validation and clear timestamps would still be necessary.
No automatic public update
Displaying a price does not send it to a shared database that apps can read.
Drivers fill the gap
Community reports make comparison possible, but their age and coverage vary.
The CCPC explains the current price-display rules. The reporting gap described here concerns the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland is covered by the UK’s Fuel Finder rules; FuelWatch’s own pump prices remain community-reported.
8 September 2026
The Taoiseach warns of diesel above €2.
Reporting for Dublin Live, Cillian Sherlock and Cate McCurry described Micheál Martin’s warning that diesel above €2 per litre could become the “new norm”. He cited advice from the Government’s energy expert group and continuing uncertainty in the Middle East.
Public price reporting would not set the price of oil or guarantee cheaper fuel. It would let drivers compare the prices stations are charging before choosing where to fill up. That becomes more useful when prices are changing and household budgets are stretched.
Reporting rules already exist elsewhere
The UK put a reporting duty behind the apps.
The UK example
Stations report changes within 30 minutes.
The UK launched Fuel Finder on 2 February 2026. Retailers must report price changes so apps and websites can help drivers compare them. The scheme includes Northern Ireland.
How Fuel Finder works →97%
of UK petrol stations registered, according to the CMA in August 2026.
£40
estimated annual saving per UK household with a car. A government forecast, not a measured saving.
Qualifying stations must report their prices to the government service.
Official scheme ↗Stations report changes within five minutes for the covered fuels.
Official scheme ↗Mandatory reporting within 30 minutes, including Northern Ireland.
Official scheme ↗Price display is required. A mandatory public reporting scheme remains a proposal.
Irish proposal ↗Registration measures participation, not perfect accuracy. The CMA still monitors compliance, and Fuel Finder accepts reports of incorrect prices. The £40 figure is a forecast of average household savings, not a promise to each driver.
Our proposal
Make price changes public by law.
In March, TD Shay Brennan called for a mandatory national PumpWatch scheme. Ireland should turn that proposal into a reporting duty with a public feed and an accountable operator.
Require every station to report
Require petrol and diesel price changes to be submitted within 30 minutes. Give retailers straightforward ways to report, including automatic uploads from their own systems.
Publish an open feed
Make station prices and update times available to any qualifying app or website on equal terms. Drivers should be able to choose the service they prefer, including FuelWatch.
Check the data and enforce the duty
Assign responsibility for checking reports, correcting errors and following up on missing or misleading submissions. Publish how well the scheme is working.
FuelWatch supports mandatory reporting because voluntary contributions cannot guarantee complete, current coverage. The Government can require the updates that community apps currently have to wait for.
Help the next driver
Share the price you see when you fill up.
Open a station on the map, enter its prices or upload a photo of the price board, then check the figures before submitting. Your report gives the next driver more recent information.
FuelWatch is free on the web, iOS and Android. Check the report date when comparing stations and confirm the displayed price at the forecourt.
Updated 9 September 2026. Sources are linked beside the claims they support.