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LAST UPDATE | 11 Apr
TALKS BETWEEN THE government and transport and farming organisations have finished for the day, with sources saying a finalised fuel support package is “close”.
Government said in a statement that representatives from the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), the Coach Tourism & Transport Council of Ireland and the Freight Transport Association of Ireland have expressed their “full support” for the measures put forward by the government in today’s meeting.
However, speaking on his way out of the meeting, IRHA President Ger Hyland said: “Nothing’s agreed, but we have the bones of an agreement”.
He described the talks as “stressful” but “robust” and said a package will be worked on overnight and that the IHRA will remain available for talks over the rest of the weekend.
Asked what will happen next, Hyland said: “We’re working on a package here. It is a substantial package, and we hope to have this over the line, either late tonight or tomorrow.”
Negotiations between the Department of Agriculture and agricultural representative groups have also concluded for the day.
Talks between the Government and transport and farming representative bodies have been ongoing since this morning in an effort to bring an end to the fuel protests that have brought parts of the country to a standstill.
Government sources described today’s meetings as “productive” and “positive”.
In a statement released by the Tánaiste’s office, Government said Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien and junior Minister Sean Canney are “actively progressing plans for a transport support scheme, with detailed work underway”.
As part of the package being assembled by the government, a temporary Fuel Support Scheme may be put in place to assist farmers, hauliers and contractors most impacted by fuel price hikes.
Senior sources have told The Journal that the package that was teased by ministers includes financial support for those working across Ireland’s food supply chains, including farmers and delivery drivers.
The time-bound Fuel Support Scheme will be kept under review. Sources say it comes in response to a global energy shock more severe than those experienced in the 1970s and 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
The support will come in the form of direct payments. It is understood that the package will be presented to industry groups this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon and his department are said to be “devising a temporary fuel support scheme to provide support for these critical sectors”.
The statement said the government “recognises the urgency of providing solutions for these very impacted sectors”.
An emergency Cabinet meeting is to be held tomorrow for a “security update”.
Yesterday, anger was expressed by protesters over the government’s unwillingness to directly invite their representatives to talks, with one of the leaders, Christopher Duffy, saying they’d been “put at the kiddies’ table”.
Ministers were adamant that they would only invite established representative groups, such as the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Supplier Association (ICMSA). However, they said those groups may bring protesters along if they wished.
Many of the protesters are farmers and members of the IFA and the ICMSA, but the associations had no hand in organising the demonstrations.
IFA President Francie Gorman told RTÉ’s Countrywide before today’s meeting that they would consider inviting a representative of the protesters, even before blockades are lifted.
“We’re not going to find a solution to this problem if we don’t try and include the people who are protesting,” he said.
Gorman said he doesn’t approve of the tactics employed by protesters, but he won’t encourage them to change them when a package hadn’t yet been revealed by the government.
Any package, he said, must address not only the cost of fuel, but also the cost of fertiliser.
However, in the end, only officials from the traditional organisations attended the talks.
ICMSA President Denis Drennan said he supports “getting everyone around the table”, but it’s proven difficult because the protests were organised at grassroots level, rather than through one centralised group.
“There’s an awful lot of splinter groups and there’s no coordination, so it’s going to be very difficult to get everybody around the table,” he said.
“In some areas, there’s a go-slow protest. In other areas, there’s a complete blockage of roadways.
“At one point yesterday, I was held up by three probably 17 or 18-year-olds, just parked in three tractors across the road there. There didn’t seem to be any coordination or any instruction being given.”
Drennan said the protesters will “have to get themselves organised” if they want to have a voice.
Online, some Facebook pages which have been instrumental in the organisation of some of the larger protests have said they are intending to continue the protest for a sixth day tomorrow.
Some of the mooted protests are smaller than previous ones and suggest people meeting with vehicles on the outskirts of towns and villages and making their way by foot with other protesters into the main area.
With reporting by Christina Finn and Jane Matthews
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