Petrol prices are up 12 per cent since the start of the year, according to a survey by AA Ireland.
The figures show a litre of unleaded petrol now costs nearly €1.159, up 4.8 cent on March's price while Diesel also rose by €0.017 cent to an average of €1.085 in the same period.
Public affairs manager of AA Ireland Conor Faughnan said the figures for Irish motorists were not going to get any better.
Mr Faughnan said: "High demand for oil in places like China and India is also now a fact of life...it doesn't look as if we are going to have cheap petrol again any time soon."
The AA estimates that the increases in fuel prices means that the average cost for Irish motorists has increased by about €18 per month.
The rise in prices was blamed on a number of factors including the cost of oil rising to above $65 a barrel.
However, the AA said that Ireland had been saved from the effects of US gasoline shortage worries due to the current strength of the euro against the dollar.
