The Government has been accused of applying a “double standard” in its response to protests, with Aontú TD Paul Lawless claiming that farmers and hauliers are being treated differently to environmental activists.
Lawless pointed to a previous meeting between the radical group Extinction Rebellion and Government representatives as evidence of unequal treatment.
“The fact that the environmental group Extinction Rebellion, known for blocking roads and traffic, secured a meeting with the Transport Minister, but farmers and hauliers are not being afforded the same courtesy shows the double standard and anti-rural attitude of the government parties,” he said.
Lawless said he had attended the ongoing demonstrations and described them as peaceful.
“I have attended these tractor protests and they are incredibly peaceful protests attended by decent hard-working people,” he said.
“By calling in the army to remove them and by refusing to meet them the government have inflamed the situation even more. It is shameful the way this government treat the people who work hard and get up early in the morning.”
Similar concerns were raised by Independent TD Carol Nolan, who described the Government’s approach as “contemptible snobbery.”
In comments to Gript, Nolan said that while certain activist groups are afforded access to ministers, those involved in ongoing fuel demonstrations are being “maligned” and dismissed.
“We know from past experience and indeed from my own PQs that lobby groups and NGOs such as the National Women’s Council, who represent no women I know of, have open access to the corridors of power,” she said.
“The same applies to environmental groups like Extinction Rebellion, an organisation that should basically have its headquarters in outer space given how far out of touch it is with reality.”
She said that, by contrast, those involved in the current protests are being criticised.
“But when it comes to the hardworking men and women who give everything to keep the country going, the response is to malign their characters and call them puppets of outside influences,” she said.
“When was the last time you heard a minister call out Hezbollah flag waving supporters who protest with immunity from criticism? When was the last time you heard any government member publicly condemn the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood here?”
“Yet they spit venom at the ordinary man and woman who have been brought to the brink. It is contemptible snobbery and people see it for what it is.”
As previously reported by Gript, then-Environment Minister Eamon Ryan held a formal meeting with representatives of Extinction Rebellion at Leinster House in January 2024 to discuss Ireland’s LNG policy and related energy issues.
The meeting, which took place in the Minister’s office, was arranged following internal Department correspondence and included discussion points such as opposition to LNG and broader climate policy.
Extinction Rebellion has previously engaged in protest actions including blocking roads and infrastructure, as well as incidents of disruption in various countries.
Meanwhile, the current fuel protests have continued to cause disruption in Dublin, with demonstrators blocking key routes and fuel infrastructure.
As reported by RTÉ this morning, protest organiser John Dallon said the demonstrations could continue for an extended period if necessary.
“I think this protest could continue on,” he said.
“Maybe for another week, maybe two weeks.”
He said participants were prepared to escalate their actions.
“If it takes a month, we are prepared to sit here,” he said.
“If it takes to close the country down. We’ll close the country down.”
Dallon also disputed criticism from Government figures that protesters were “holding the country to ransom.”
“And how dare they come out and say that these people that are protesting are holding the country to ransom?” he said.
“It’s the Government that’s holding this country to ransom, not the protesters.”
He also said there was uncertainty surrounding a proposed meeting with Government representatives.
“It’s not that it’s upsetting,” he said.
“It just telling another message that the government is still sailing off into the sunset with their arrogance and not kind of listening to the voice of the people of Ireland.”
The protests have centred on demands relating to fuel costs and taxation, with demonstrators citing financial pressure on businesses and households.
The Government has previously criticised the blockades, with ministers warning that disruption to critical infrastructure could carry legal consequences and confirming that the Defence Forces had been requested to assist in removing vehicles.