Member's statement: Fuel Prices

Member's statement by Ms Claire Sugden on 15 September 2026.

MLA

Ms Claire Sugden

Party at the time

Independent

Date

15 September 2026

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Fuel Prices

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5705544

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I, too, want to talk about the extraordinary cost of putting fuel in our cars and heating our homes, because the figures are becoming really alarming. Last week, across Northern Ireland, we averaged £1·57 a litre for petrol and £1·78 a litre for diesel. When I left Coleraine this morning, diesel was £1·84 a litre. For many people in Northern Ireland, driving is not a lifestyle choice, as public transport does not provide a realistic alternative. People need their cars to get to work, to take their children to school, to attend hospital appointments, to care for relatives and, simply, to lead their day-to-day lives. Every increase at the pump is, effectively, another tax on people going to work and living their life. When people go home, they have to heat their house. On 1 September in Northern Ireland, the average cost of 900 litres of heating oil was around £800. Ten days later, that had increased to almost £928. Gas customers also face increases, with a 19·2% regulated tariff increase taking effect from next month, and winter is coming. I appreciate that much of the price increases are being driven by international events and volatile wholesale energy markets and that no one in this Chamber can dictate global oil prices. However, that cannot become an excuse for political helplessness. We elect Ministers, MPs and other representatives precisely because they have access and influence that ordinary people do not have. Where is the sustained pressure on the UK Government? How is it acceptable that executives in large global fuel companies earn multi-million-pound bonuses while the people who buy their products are struggling? Where is the collective case for Northern Ireland about the particular impact here? We are heavily dependent on home heating oil, while our wages are lower and so many people cannot substitute their car with reliable public transport. The £100 home heating oil scheme will be welcome for those who qualify, but it should have come much sooner than it did. Further, when the average price of a tank of oil has increased by more than that in 10 days, we should be honest about what £100 will achieve: it will barely skim the surface. I need to know what the Executive are doing now, not what they will do in December when the crisis is upon us. What discussions are taking place at Westminster? What assessment is being made of further intervention? Is there any more that the Utility Regulator can do within its powers? Are Ministers examining every lever that is available to them? Many families are not sitting around the kitchen table discussing our political strategies, Members. They are looking at the oil tank. They are watching the numbers climb on the petrol pump. They are opening their gas bill and wondering how expensive this winter will be. That deserves more of our attention than the political nonsense that we will hear in the weeks leading up to the election.

495 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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