Service stations have been accused of not passing on reductions in the price of petrol despite strong falls in worldwide oil prices over the last year.

Several members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business said yesterday that consumers were not benefitting "at the pump" and there was a wide disparity in the price of petrol in different parts of the State.

The members were reacting to a presentation from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) which warned about serious job losses if large superstores are allowed to operate their own service stations.

Fianna Fail TD, Mr Batt O'Keefe said the price of crude oil had fallen from $20 a barrel to $13 over the last year, but consumers were not seeing an equal price reduction.

Mr David Stanton (Fine Gael) said oil companies "are making huge profits" and had a stranglehold over garage owners which resulted in higher prices.

However, these views were rejected by the SIMI chief executive, Mr Cyril McHugh, who said that for every £1 spent on petrol, the government got 70p in taxes. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment reviewed petrol prices every month and ensured they remained competitive, he added. He also insisted petrol prices in the Republic were one of the lowest in Europe.

He said there was no evidence of "collusion" between petrol retailers when setting prices.

He said the fact that different retailers charge different prices shows there is competition in the market.

In a separate presentation, the Small Firms Association, called on the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, to reduce the rate of corporation tax for small businesses to 12.5 per cent in the next budget.