The number of motorists caught travelling on marked mineral oil or “green diesel” has seen an increase in recent weeks as multiagency checkpoints test various vehicles on Irish roads.
In the latest case, a vehicle was stopped in Co. Tipperary earlier this week, in Clonmel, to the south of the county.
Taking to social media on Tuesday (June 29), members of An Garda Síochána based in Tipperary said:
“Clonmel Community Policing and Regular Unit members were today assisted by Revenue Customs Division in conducting a joint agency checkpoint.
“One vehicle detected containing marked gas oil, or ‘green diesel’. Court proceedings will commence and the driver faces a hefty fine.”
This follows a checkpoint in south Co. Kildare last month which discovered three drivers using green diesel – with on-the-spot fines of €2,000 issued to the drivers in question.
A further driver was caught “going on green” the previous week at a checkpoint near Naas, also in Kildare.
According to the Irish Revenue, green diesel, also known as marked gas oil (MGO), is diesel on which mineral oil tax at a reduced rate has been paid on condition that it is used only for purposes that qualify for that reduced rate, such as agriculture.
It is chemically marked and dyed green to deter misuse for purposes to which a higher rate of tax applies.
It is illegal to use marked gas oil or marked kerosene in road vehicles, the authority notes.