{"id":395306,"date":"2026-04-12T21:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/395306\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:37:11","slug":"fuel-protests-to-continue-after-insulting-package-aimed-at-tackling-prices-says-key-figure-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/395306\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuel protests to continue after \u2018insulting\u2019 package aimed at tackling prices, says key figure \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the lead fuel price protesters<\/a> has said groups will continue targeting \u201cmajor infrastructure\u201d after an \u201cinsulting\u201d \u20ac505 million package<\/a> of measures was announced by the Government<\/a>.<\/p>\n

James Geoghegan<\/a>, a Co Westmeath farmer, said O\u2019Connell Street<\/a> in Dublin<\/a> may not be on the agenda again as blockading there \u201cdoesn\u2019t really do much major harm\u201d. <\/p>\n

He said protesters will likely pick areas that have a bigger impact, such as \u201cmajor infrastructure\u201d because \u201cthis Government is not listening\u201d. <\/p>\n

A 2.4 cent reduction to a litre of green diesel was \u201cnothing\u201d, while 10 cent off a litre of petrol and regular diesel was \u201cnot enough\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Having discussed the situation with some other protesters, Geoghegan said they plan to lobby backbench Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> and Fine Gael<\/a> TDs to warn them their seats are in jeopardy at the next election. They want Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> removed as Taoiseach and will be supporting the Opposition\u2019s no-confidence motion, he said.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Geoghegan speaking at a rally in Dublin on Tuesday. Photograph: Liam McBurney\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

The protesters do not fall under a single organised umbrella and instead are made up of disparate local groups largely driven by the same cause. <\/p>\n

Co Kildare-based Sonny Boyd, who operates a recovery and breakdown assistance business, said he was \u201cnot overly pleased\u201d with the measures but wished at this stage that \u201ceverybody would stand down\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has spiralled out of control now,\u201d he said, adding that he had concerns about how garda\u00ed treated protesters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have tried to say in some of the WhatsApp groups to let the TDs go in and talk for us and try to do it the proper way, but lads are just so fed up. They are on their knees.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Pat Leahy: Could we be looking at the future of protests in Ireland?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The latest package of supports was \u201cway off\u201d the mark, he said, given the protesters wanted diesel capped at \u20ac1.75 a litre while the reduction announced would leave it at about \u20ac2 a litre. <\/p>\n

The cut on green diesel was \u201cnot a lot at all\u201d, he said, adding that people in protest messaging groups were \u201cnot happy\u201d.<\/p>\n

John Dallon, another high-profile figure in the movement, said he did not think the Government\u2019s measures would keep people off the streets. The Co Kildare farmer, who was among a small group of protesters refused entry to a meeting with Ministers last Friday, said taking 2.4 cents a litre off green diesel was \u201can insult\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were telling us they were going to come out with a \u2018substantial\u2019 package. That is not a substantial package,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public won\u2019t accept that, I think. It will only set more fuel on the fire\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Dallon outside the Department of Agriculture in Dublin. Photograph: Stephen Collins\/Collins Photos <\/p>\n

He said he was undecided on whether he would participate in further protests, but would support continued peaceful protests.<\/p>\n

Dallon was on O\u2019Connell Street in Dublin in the early hours of Sunday when the Garda public order unit was drafted in. He said he was \u201cin shock\u201d at the force\u2019s approach, which he claimed was \u201cpure militant style\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Pepper spray, megaphones and jostling: How the Whitegate fuel blockade came to an endOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na said its public order units were deployed to O\u2019Connell Street overnight and removed many vehicles under escort. \u201cBlockaders\u201d were warned to comply with Garda directions, it said. <\/p>\n

By midmorning, several remaining tractors had been shepherded to the bottom of O\u2019Connell Street, which was closed to traffic for the day. <\/p>\n

An articulated lorry, escorted by a Garda car, drove to the bridge while honking its horn, drawing cheers from a crowd of supporters.<\/p>\n

By the afternoon, all the farm vehicles and trucks had been escorted away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the lead fuel price protesters has said groups will continue targeting \u201cmajor infrastructure\u201d after an \u201cinsulting\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[943,615,895,3775,171749,1523,61,60,1843,43,104173,6000],"class_list":["post-395306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-cost-of-living","tag-dublin","tag-fianna-fail","tag-fine-gael","tag-fuel-protests","tag-government","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-micheal-martin","tag-news","tag-o-connell-street","tag-oil"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}