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 April 2021 were 40 million litres higher than their level in April 2020 indicating a substantial increase in car traffic relative to the levels at the start of the pandemic. Despite the increase, April 2021 clearance volumes of petrol were 28% below those in April 2019.
There was an increase of 134 million litres for clearances of autodiesel in April 2021 compared with the levels in April 2020. This is in contrast to similar year on year monthly comparisons since the pandemic began which showed decreases in the volume of clearances of unleaded petrol and autodiesel. See table 2.1 and figure 2.1.
See full release Fuel excise clearances April 2021.
| Autodiesel | Petrol | |
| January 2020 | 1.9 | -5.4 |
| February | 5.3 | -1.7 |
| March | -8.9 | -22 |
| April | -55.3 | -72 |
| May | -39 | -49.5 |
| June | -16.8 | -33.3 |
| July | -5.9 | -15.6 |
| August | -8.1 | -15.1 |
| September | -2.7 | -10.7 |
| October | -13.2 | -28.7 |
| November | -16.9 | -37.7 |
| December | -2.4 | -13 |
| January 2021 | -33.7 | -51.4 |
| February | -27.8 | -45.2 |
| March | -6.7 | -17.9 |
| April | 95.6 | 156.9 |
Vehicles Licensed
Source: Department of Transport
In May 2021, 7,337 new private cars were licensed in Ireland, compared with 1,490 in May 2020. However, the number of new cars licensed in May 2021 was still almost 20% lower than May 2019 when 9,126 cars were licensed.
In addition, the number of used (imported) private cars licensed rose from 1,170 in May 2020 to 6,426 in May 2021. However, the number of used (imported) private cars licensed was still 2,636 vehicles lower in May 2021 than in May 2019.
Looking at the first five months of 2021, a total of 54,843 new private cars were licensed, an increase of 16.7% compared with the same period last year. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 49.1% compared with the same period in 2020. See Vehicles licensed for the first time May 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 | |
| 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 46 fatalities on Irish roads in the first four months of 2021 compared with 59 in the same period in 2020, a drop of 22.0%. In May 2021 there were 8 fatalities on Irish roads compared with 6 in May 2020 (when the lockdown restrictions were more stringent).
Note: data is provisional.
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