Public response to the Iran war fuel crisis – evidence from Ireland’s Behavioural Energy and Travel Tracker
This research looks at the impact of the recent fuel price crisis on people in Ireland, how they have responded, and preferences for future price shocks.
Overview
Behavioural Insights for Policy series: Primary research
Year: 2026
Topic: Everyday energy behaviours
Methodology: Survey
Author: SEAI Behavioural Economics Unit
Summary
The onset of war in Iran at the end of February 2026, and the subsequent disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, led to price shocks for Irish consumers, particularly in the price of petrol, diesel, and heating oil. Energy prices have eased since the peak of the crisis but remain high, and these events revealed how exposed we are to any future price shocks. In light of this, it is important to understand the impact the recent crisis has had on Irish citizens and how they think we should go about improving our resilience to future crises.
To investigate these issues, we used data from our Behavioural Energy & Travel Tracker (BETT) to look at the impact the recent crisis has had on people in Ireland, how they say they have responded, changes in behaviour following the crisis and what people’s preferences are for government approaches to protect the country from future price shocks.
Read the research note (opens in a new tab)