15 August 2001: The Automobile Association has called on the oil companies to explain why there are such variations in prices around the country.

Though the average price of petrol in Ireland fell back sharply last month - by an average of 4.5p a litre in the month of July to 65.8p per litre, prices can vary by as much as 10p a litre at different filling stations.

There are areas where competition is healthy and value is good," says an AA spokesman. "But there are other areas where no one seems to be able to supply petrol at a reasonable price. We don't know whether this is caused by wholesalers or retailers, but we do know the consumer is losing out to an unacceptable degree."

The AA also says there is little difference in price between major brand names, but there are significant variations between different counties or regions.