Fuel excise clearances
Source: Office of the Revenue Commissioners
The Revenue Commissioners collect statistics on the volumes of fuel clearances covered by excise taxes. Clearances reflect the excise duties paid on oil removed from tax warehouses. Clearances data provide a proxy for sales and the associated level of consumption but do not reflect actual consumption per se.
Clearances of unleaded petrol in May 2021 were nearly 50% higher than the level in May 2020 indicating a substantial increase in car traffic relative to the levels at the start of the pandemic. Despite the increase, May 2021 clearance volumes of petrol were still 24% below May 2019.
There was a large increase of 47% for clearances of autodiesel in May 2021 compared with the levels in May 2020. Similar to petrol, levels of autodiesel have not reached pre-pandemic figures, as May 2021 clearance volumes were 11% below May 2019. See table 2.1 and figure 2.1.
See full release Fuel excise clearances May 2021.
Autodiesel 2019 | Autodiesel 2020 | Autodiesel 2021 | Petrol 2019 | Petrol 2020 | Petrol 2021 | |
January | 292 | 298 | 197 | 83 | 79 | 38 |
February | 281 | 295 | 213 | 78 | 77 | 42 |
March | 308 | 281 | 262 | 88 | 68 | 56 |
April | 312 | 139 | 273 | 91 | 25 | 65 |
May | 325 | 198 | 290 | 93 | 47 | 70 |
June | 298 | 248 | 87 | 58 | ||
July | 316 | 297 | 92 | 78 | ||
August | 308 | 283 | 90 | 76 | ||
September | 308 | 300 | 87 | 77 | ||
October | 323 | 280 | 87 | 62 | ||
November | 316 | 262 | 84 | 53 | ||
December | 293 | 286 | 83 | 72 |
Vehicles Licensed
Source: Department of Transport
In the first half of 2021, a total of 59,823 new private cars were licensed, an increase of 21.6% compared with the same period last year but still 22.9% lower than in 2019. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 50.3% compared with the same period in 2020 and is still 22.7% lower when compared to 2019.
Figures for new cars licensed rose above 2019 levels for the first time this year. In June 2021, 4,980 new private cars were licensed in Ireland, compared with 2,189 in June 2020. The number of new cars licensed in June 2021 is 29.1% higher than June 2019 when 3,858 cars were licensed.
The number of used (imported) private cars licensed rose from 3,738 in June 2020 to 5,900 in June 2021. However, the number of used (imported) private cars licensed is still 2,098 vehicles lower in June 2021 than in June 2019. See Vehicles licensed for the first time June 2021.
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
January | 22279 | 20665 | 16948 |
February | 14178 | 13263 | 11672 |
March | 14404 | 10239 | 10672 |
April | 13794 | 1338 | 8214 |
May | 9126 | 1490 | 7337 |
June | 3858 | 2189 | 4980 |
July | 18741 | 15329 | |
August | 7202 | 7360 | |
September | 4104 | 5747 | |
October | 3214 | 4189 | |
November | 1676 | 1468 | |
December | 729 | 1032 |
Road Fatalities
Source: Road Safety Authority
There were 58 fatalities on Irish roads in the first half of 2021 compared with 71 in the same period in 2020, a drop of 18.3%. In June 2021 there were 11 fatalities on Irish roads compared with 12 in June 2020.
Note: data is provisional.
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