A survey by the AA has found that prices for both petrol and diesel continued to rise in the last month.
The survey found that the average price of diesel now costs 132.4 cent, which represents a 7.8 cent increase in the last month alone, while petrol now costs 124.9 cent on average, up 3.8 cent.
The price of diesel usually drops as summer approaches, but that trend has been bucked this year with price rises that AA public affairs manager Conor Faughnan describes as 'phenomenal'.
'We have never seen prices rise so fast or reach so high. It is having a major impact on diesel motorists and also on the cost of haulage and the costs for many businesses. It's bad news for the consumer's pocket and the economy as a whole,' he said.
'We can understand oil prices pushing up the cost of fuel,' he explained. 'But that does not explain why diesel is affected so much worse than petrol,' he added.
Mr Faughnan pointed out that the current highs are not restricted to Ireland.
He said: 'Right across Europe and beyond, diesel is at record highs. We still have no satisfactory explanation as to why this should be so.
'European countries including Ireland are encouraging their motorists to switch to diesel for environmental reasons, and it would be extremely disappointing if those consumers lost out.'
Mr Faughnan called on both the Government and the European Commission to get to the bottom of the current situation.
