Aontú Leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has called on the government to deescalate and talk to the Price of Fuel Protesters. He stated:
It is madness for the government to call in the Army before trying every peaceful avenue possible to bring this protest to an end. It is incredible how obtuse and think headed this government is that they wont even speak to representatives of the protests. My understanding is that this protest will stand down immediately if the government simply call them and organise a meeting. It is shocking to think that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are going to introduce a Trumpian strategy that could potentially lead to violence on our streets and yet this government will not at least try to talk to these protestors.
The Taoiseach said that his government will meet with a number of representative bodies. This government will meet with everyone but those who are protesting. This shows how dysfunctional the Irish political system is. The government has said that these protesters are not a registered representative body with a clear mandate. That may be, but they are citizens. Their taxes pay the wages of TDs. In a representative democracy citizens should have a right to speak to their elected reps.
Their ask is not unreasonable in terms of the price of fuel. Petrol is €1.55 and diesel and is €1.77 in Spain. The Irish government take 60% of the price of a litre of fuel in taxation. The government collected €4.3bn in fuel tax last year. They collected €1.17bn in Carbon Tax last year. The government has room for manoeuvre. Cutting the Carbon Tax during this energy crisis, extending the licenced hauliers rebate to diesel dependent businesses and including HVO in the rebate schemes are all fair steps that could meet these protestors needs.
No one wants to see our roads or ports blocked. This has to be brought to an end soon. The solution is that the Minister for Transport lifts the phone to the reps of the protests and organises a meeting. We have been in contact with numerous Ministers to urge them to resolve this in a speedy manner. We will continue to try and mediate a solution today.
