{"id":614784,"date":"2026-09-05T00:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T00:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/614784\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T00:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T00:16:15","slug":"haulage-chief-says-industry-may-return-to-protests-if-fuel-supports-end-too-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/614784\/","title":{"rendered":"Haulage chief says industry may return to protests if fuel supports end too soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Eoghan Dalton<\/p>\n

Reports from Killarney<\/p>\n

HAULAGE INDUSTRY LEADERS want to stay around the negotiating table with the government, but have warned that protests may follow if the vital fuel supports end.<\/p>\n

Speaking as the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) annual conference gets underway in Killarney, IRHA president Ger Hyland told The Journal that the industry is at risk of \u201cdying\u201d, warning of the loss of numerous trucking firms if the fuel subsidies end before oil prices stabilise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there\u2019s an issue with fuel in the Middle East and while we\u2019re so dependent on fossil fuel, those supports are paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Hyland noted that the IHRA were not involved as an organisation in this year\u2019s demonstrations that brought the country to a halt, he did not rule out further protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the day comes that we\u2019re not getting the outcome that we need, we will go back to our members and see what mandate they give us.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Hyland added that, \u201cat the present time we have a working relationship with government\u201d, and he hoped that \u201cwill remain\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"626Fuel
\n IHRA president Ger Hyland Leah Farrell \/ \u00a9 RollingNews.ie<\/p>\n

Leah Farrell \/ \u00a9 RollingNews.ie \/ \u00a9 RollingNews.ie\n<\/p>\n

Several hundred members of the haulage industry are in Kerry this weekend for the conference.<\/p>\n

Hyland said the delegates will discuss how to approach the government in talks and the escalating costs in fuel, including how to \u201cgreen up\u201d the industry to ease its reliance on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also need the support of government to do any of this,\u201d Hyland said, describing haulage as operating on a \u201cvery small margin\u201d as an industry.<\/p>\n

Describing the industry as vital to the lifeblood of the Irish economy, Hyland added:<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the minute you get up in the morning, that pillow came up in the back of a truck. Everything you eat, drink, wear, it comes on the back of a truck.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u2018Zizagging\u2019 prices across the year<\/p>\n

John Ryan, a second-generation haulier from Co Laois, told The Journal that the year had seen \u201ccrazy\u201d prices for his business.<\/p>\n

His company employs some 60 people, between office staff, mechanics and drivers for his 28 trucks.<\/p>\n

He said it has been a \u201cturbulent\u201d year, with his haulage firm seeing \u201czigzagging\u201d prices since the US war on Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gone out of control again. Even in the last three weeks, it\u2019s gone up 30 cent litre,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n

Once we go over \u20ac1.90, including VAT, it\u2019s not viable. Haulers are great people to make things work, but when it goes above that, then we\u2019re at a thing called nothing.<\/p>\n

But Ryan cautioned against further protests over fuel supports, as he put his trust in talks with the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtest is to get talking. We\u2019re already talking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4240\"
\n Haulier Paul Jackman The Journal<\/p>\n

The Journal\n<\/p>\n

Paul Jackman, a Co Waterford based haulier, told The Journal that \u201cdiesel is getting dearer and dearer\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jackman was among those who urged that carbon tax be deferred for a second time next month, after it was first deferred in response to this year\u2019s fuel protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiesel keeps getting taxed and that\u2019s driving it up for us, but it\u2019s hurting commerce,\u201d Jackman said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eoghan Dalton Reports from Killarney HAULAGE INDUSTRY LEADERS want to stay around the negotiating table with the government,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9658,260755,61,60,93642,260756,42818,41961,43],"class_list":["post-614784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-fuel","tag-fuel-supports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irha","tag-irha-conference","tag-irish-road-haulage-association","tag-killarney","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614784","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=614784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}