The IPRA is the voice of petrol retailers across Ireland. We represent independently owned forecourts in cities, villages and towns and would like to continue to do so. We can only represent these if they are still in existence and are able to afford to run profitably without being forced to sell out to the oil majors.

Ireland is an entrepreneurial country and needs independently owned businesses to ensure our competitiveness for consumers and diversification to protect your tax intake. If we continue to put all our eggs into a few large baskets we will erase the competitive market entirely. This would result in job losses, locally owned businesses funding community projects (note the large number of petrol stations supporting and sponsoring local GAA and soccer clubs nationwide), profits being directed to overseas corporations, a complete lack of loyalty to our consumers, economy and country as a whole and little interest in protecting our local environments and communities.

We have canvassed our membership and as a sector, IPRA would like the following to be considered for Budget 2026 (and beyond) which we believe will make a big difference to the ability of our members to continue to operate in an ever-increasing competitive marketplace:

  • Fuels Forum: Our most important ask is for the Government to engage with us and set up a Fuels Forum for all forecourt related issues so that we can work with the Government and be able to instantly relay all fuel related changes etc. to our members ASAP.
  • Fuel Excise: Fuel excise needs urgent reconsideration as these increases negatively impact on consumers and businesses, making the transport of people, goods and services even higher. This impacts on working families (not just on fuel for getting to the office and school run but also on the cost of their weekly shopping etc.) and businesses (delivery and transport of goods and services increases the cost of that product service, vice making it uncompetitive, expensive and frustrating for all involved who are trying to start or run a competitive enterprise).
  • VAT reduction for Border Stations: The excise on fuel needs to be urgently reviewed for the survival of border county forecourts – they are already losing customers to cross-border shopping of soft drinks and alcohol but to lose them to cheaper fuel in the North is only going to encourage and spread this issue wider than just the border counties. Irish retailers need to be able to compete against their Northern counterparts. Currently diesel is c.25cpl cheaper in Northern Ireland than the Republic.
  • ReTurn Scheme: This scheme needs review; we are regularly asked, “where are the recyclables going, where are the profits going, what additional transport vehicles have been added to the roads since commencement for collections”. We note that none of these are electric, or biofuel powered. There needs to be an independent audit of the workings of this entire system which has placed a huge financial burden on smaller retailers and forecourts with purchasing, maintenance and additional staff hours to monitor and empty machines in comparison to how the larger MNCs could adopt this system. Any similar systems in the pipelines need to involve better communication and discussion with retailers prior to implementation.
  • Reducing Business Costs: We call for a reduction of PRSI to 1% to help transition towards the living wage. We believe wage increases are only working to reduce the number of hours on offer to staff, which affects wage packets, job security and safety in numbers at work on the forecourt. Furthermore, we call for at least a one-year delay to the pension auto enrolment scheme due to commence on 1st January 2026 to allow employers and employees to prepare for this and the impacts employees may see on their wage packets. 
  • Cost of Doing Business Grants versus Commercial Rates: While the IPRA is appreciative of the ICOB Grants 1 and 2 and the PowerUp Grant (noting some members are still awaiting the opportunity to reclassify themselves as retail to secure the grants they have been entitled to since 2024) we believe on one hand the grants support retail and on the other hand commercial rates take these supports away. The rating system is over 200 years old and existed at a time when all business operated from bricks and mortar establishments. The system needs to move with the times and factor in “rates” for online enterprises, influencers, those running businesses operating overseas from Ireland etc. The world has changed, and we need to stop penalising shopfronts. The methodology for petrol stations needs to be amended towards the UK model, our retailers should be valued based on their size (as is the case with supermarkets and convenience shops) with a fee for each pump, rather than the current system of turnover. Turnover is not profit.
  • Insolvency Review: We ask for an insolvency review into retail businesses from 2023 onwards, specifically for a breakdown of “what went wrong” e.g. rent, commercial rates, regulatory, employee costs etc. so that learnings can be used to identify areas Government can assist with and shared with all retail stakeholders.
  • Fuel Theft: The IPRA has been working alongside An Garda Síochána on this increasing problem. We await a further meeting with the Department of Justice and hope this will bring about a solution to deter fuel drive-offs. In the meantime, we ask that the duty on unpaid fuel be returned to retailers. We hope together, the IPRA, An Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice can resolve this issue once and for all.
  • TII EV Rollout Scheme: While the IPRA is appreciative of the grants offered by ZEVI and TII to date we would like to see the EV grant scheme to continue to be rolled out to more and more minor roads so that these stations can be given the same ability to operate and compete as those based on larger road frontages.
  • Tobacco License: We ask this fee to be based on the size of the shop rather than placing the same fee on large MNC supermarkets as on smaller retail stores.
  • Smuggling: The IPRA calls for a freeze and review of consumer taxes including petrol, diesel and tobacco VAT and excise to help prevent consumers turning to the purchasing of illicit but cheaper products. Furthermore, we believe An Garda Síochána and Revenue should receive additional funding for detection, enforcement and prosecution of smuggling activities and operators.
  • Insurance: While the new Book of Quantum has brought consistency to personal injury awards, we call upon the Government to now tackle high insurance costs. These have not decreased, despite the work of the PIAB. Furthermore, more work is required to tackle defamation actions. Retailers and their employees remain terrified of upsetting customers, even when they strongly suspect something is amiss (shoplifting, fuel theft etc.).  The IPRA joins in discussions on the Retail Forum regularly, however, more needs to be done as retail crime continues to increase.

The IPRA thanks you for your time and thoughtful consideration of the above, which we have kept concise for ease of your time and energy given the number of submissions you will receive. We are always available to discuss any of the above in greater detail. Please keep Irish retail running.