There has been a rapid rise in the cost of motor fuel and home heating oil due to the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Consumers have been reporting increases in forecourt costs and quotes for kerosene deliveries across the country.
It follows the spike in oil prices on global markets after the outbreak of the unrest in the Arabian Gulf.
The cost of home heating oil here has surged.
According to price comparison website Oilprices.ie, the average price for 500 litres of kerosene has risen from just under €500 on this day last week, to over €750 today.
The rise in the average - from €494.59 to €761.46 in the space of a week - equates to an increase of more than 50%.
Prices at the pumps have also jumped in recent days.
in some cases, it's reported that rates have risen by between 5 cent and 10 cent a litre, with many operators now charging more than €1.80 per litre for unleaded petrol and diesel.
The Chief Executive of Fuels for Ireland, the representative body for firms involved in the importation, distribution and marketing of oil products, has described allegations of price gouging in the sector as "simply false".
Kevin McPartland said it is "entirely possible that prices rise very rapidly to a very high level, that people are hurting by them, that they're annoyed at the high price, and for it not to be a result of price gouging," he said.
"In this instance, this is verifiable," he added.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Mr McPartland said there are "publicly available data sets that show the wholesale cost of refined products like petrol, diesel and gas and you can go online and you can see them, and the increases that we've seen a retail level for home heating oil and for road transport fuel over the last few days, absolutely map that data".
He insisted that there is "no question of price gouging".
"And being perfectly frank, when the Government has talked about referring this the CCPC, I really welcome that, because we need this to be verified. We need this to be shown to the public, that in actual fact people are just passing on the wholesale price that they're paying, and it's extremely difficult in the market right now to manage that."
The Fuels for Ireland CEO said there have been incidents where workers in forecourts and in depots "being abused and insulted by customers".
Asked if he had any advice for consumers, Kevin McPartland urged people to "stay calm".
"Part of the reason why there's been a massive spike, particularly in home heating oil, is that people were rushing to order, who maybe have a few months stock in their tank at home. There's no need."
"This is just as likely to come down in the next few weeks and certainly in the coming months as it is to go up. So really, don't be ordering fuel that you don't need right now, because it's so volatile right now that's feeding into the problem," he added.
