It will now cost €750 more this year to fuel a petrol car than the annual fuel cost last year, the latest survey from AA Ireland has revealed.

The AA says a typical car has the capacity to hold 50 litres of fuel, meaning a full tank of petrol will cost €11 more than two weeks ago with a full tank of diesel working out at €5.50 more than a fortnight ago.

Petrol prices have increased 11.5% in the last two weeks. This is up from an average of €1.91 per litre to €2.13 now.

Petrol is 41% more expensive than last year and 66% more expensive than two years ago, according to Paddy Comyn of AA Ireland.

Diesel is now 45pc more expensive than last year, rising from €1.41 per litre to €2.05 per litre.

Mr Comyn said: “It now costs the average motorist of a petrol car €750 more than last year to fill their car for a year – with the average diesel driver now spending €640 more per year than last year.”

High prices for motor fuel have led to calls for larger cuts in the taxes on petrol and diesel. More than half of the cost per litre at the pumps is made up of taxes and levies.

Crude oil prices rocketed this year as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine compounded supply concerns, and as oil demand recovered from Covid-19 lockdowns, and that rise has been compounded by the weakness of the euro against the dollar. The American currency has surged to a 20-year high, inflating the cost of dollar-denominated goods such as crude oil.

Diesel and petrol are now trading at more than €2 a litre on Irish forecourts, in spite of the Government’s recent cut in excise duties.

It comes as inflation hits a near 40-year high and unions step up demands for pay rises to meet soaring living costs.

Micheál Martin gave his most stark assessment yet of continuing inflation, after it reached 8.2% in May.

Prices are going to continue going up this year, the Taoiseach said in Brussels.

“Prices will go up. We don’t have specifics on by how much,” Mr Martin said after an EU summit meeting.

He said we were facing into a different era in terms of pricing around fossil fuels.

In the space of the last 12 months, the price of diesel has jumped by an unprecedented 41pc while the price of petrol rose by 31pc.

Petrol has breached the €2-per-litre ceiling at many filling stations in recent weeks but it stands at a national average of €1.91.9 per litre.

Meanwhile, diesel, which has previously broken beyond the €2 ceiling, has fallen back slightly and now stands at a national average of €1.94.6 per litre.

Fuel prices around the country remain volatile since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Within days of being introduced in March, the Government’s excise cut of 20c per litre on petrol and 15c on diesel was wiped out.

Anna Cullen, spokesperson for AA Ireland, outlined the extent of the crude oil price rise. “It is now at $120 (€111.75) per barrel. This is the highest price we’ve seen in two months,” she said.

“The jump in prices is mainly after EU leaders reached an agreement late on Monday to ban 90% of Russian crude by the end of the year.

“For people who rely on their cars, they’re spending around €500 more than they were last year to fill up.”