Ireland cannot "protect ourselves against the price rises that are coming” if the war with Iran continues,  Eamon Ryan has warned. 

The Persian nation has vast oil reserves and the conflict has sent the price of fossil fuels surging. 

Most energy companies typically have supplies of a week or two, but there are already reports of petrol and diesel prices going up. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, former Energy Minister Eamon Ryan said there is no need for prices to rise this early into the conflict. 

“It's the speed at which the prices have gone up,” he said. 

“You can't really control oil [prices] and gas - to a lesser extent - but both are set by the international markets. 

“And we can't protect ourselves against the price rises that are coming.” 

A person filling a car up. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said there is “no excuse for prices going up at the pump” and urged companies not to take advantage of their customers. 

However, Mr Ryan warned that any increase in gas prices in the medium-term will send electricity prices up as well. 

He added there would be a “lag” before any increase is reflected in bills. 

“The downside is that it tends to last a bit longer when prices come down,” he explained. 

“I think the reason for the controversy is that a lot of people see the prices going up immediately.” 

The Government has ordered a review by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, which Mr Ryan feels is unlikely to be highly critical of the industry. 

“In my experience, they do compete on price,” he said. 

“I mean, you can kind of look for an out here from a political perspective and say, ‘Oh, high prices are nothing to do with us, it's just the industry.’

“I don't think that's the case - but I do think there is an issue and I think people are rightly angry if people jump the gun, as it were, which seems to have been happening.”

A gas ring.

In the long-term, Mr Ryan argued the only solution is for Ireland to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and increase the use of renewables. 

In 2024, 41% of Ireland’s electricity generation came from renewable sources - predominately wind and solar.

“The truth, particularly gas, the higher gas price is going to be a particular issue,” he said. 

“Because that puts up the price of our electricity; our only protection is to stop burning the gas and stop burning the oil.

“We can do that and this is I think this whole war is another case, another example, of the need for us to switch away from those fields.”

Main image: Eamon Ryan and a person filling up their car. Pictures by: Newstalk and Alamy.com.