The Minister for Agriculture has denied that the Government has refused to listen to people protesting the rising cost of fuel, while saying on Monday that he acknowledged the “absolute frustration out there.”
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, was speaking one day after he announced a €100 million Fuel Subsidy Support Scheme to assist farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers facing unprecedented increases in fuel costs. The payments will cover the months of March up to the end of July which coincides with peak fuel usage on farms.
He also said that the Government were dealing with a narrative in recent times online and beyond that “we’re not listening, we’re out of touch.”
The Fine Gael Minister, speaking on RTE Radio 1 on Monday, said that: ‘I acknowledge the absolute frustration out there – and that plenty of the people who protested in recent days wouldn’t have expected to find themselves in protests and wouldn’t normally do that.
“And that is because they have had a really significant shock to their energy bills and to their price. You know, we’re also dealing with, I suppose, in modern times, the narrative [that has] been driven by those opposed to Government, through social media and beyond, which has been that we don’t understand, we’re not listening, we’re out of touch.”
“That message has been driven home to people,” he admitted.
However, Mr Heydon said he would “pretty much counter that,” claiming that the Government were “reacting in real time.”
“ But, you know, you do, as a government, we absolutely listen and have to respond when an awful lot of people protest. Protests and blockades are two different things,” added Heydon.
“And I think because we’re probably not used to the level of protests here that let’s say there would be in the likes of France, that clear differentiation is something that we should talk about. As a Democrat, I absolutely fundamentally respect, and would passionately fight for people’s right to protest, and [right] to to disagree with me.”
The Agriculture Minister went on to say that while people can “absolutely protest and have their voice heard, blockades of critical infrastructure impacts every citizen in this country’s ability to go about their normal duties,” adding, “well, then that is a problem.”
“When we have the problem of getting fuel to our ambulances and potentially risk of life; when we have the huge impact on animal welfare with feeds and stocks not being able to get out of ports; we have to be in that space.”
Mr Heydon denied the idea that excise interventions were a response to large scale protests.
“It’s very easy for people to say this has just been a response – this has been an ongoing process. I’ve worked for weeks. As I say, the week before the protests started, when the Dail was on Easter recess, I was in government buildings having meetings with the democratically elected bodies, and that process has very much helped the package I got support for yesterday,” he said.
The Dáil is set to vote tomorrow on a confidence motion in the Government over its handling of the fuel crisis. Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae, a government supporting Independent, said on Monday that people remain very angry and it remains a tough time for everyone.
When asked how he would vote, Mr Healy-Rae said on Monday that he is of the belief that there is a view on the ground that Taoiseach Micheál Martin has lost touch with the people.
It is understood that he is urging Fianna Fáil members to consider replacing Mr Martin in the wake of his handling of the national fuel protests – going on to claim that Martin “won’t listen to anyone.”
“To be talking down to them in the way he [Martin] has, and that he won’t deal with people is wrong. They (FF) need to do something as the government are not listening to people. They didn’t act fast enough,” Deputy Healy-Rae said.
“Four fellas came over from the west of Ireland on Friday, and no one would talk to them. There are plenty of rooms up there [Dáil] for someone to talk to them and listen to their side of it besides sending them back home again,” he added.
Government-aligned TDs are facing mounting pressure from the public, with Independent TDs being asked to vote no confidence in the Government.
Meath East TD Gillian Toole joined Deputy Healy-Rae in declining to confirm if she would vote in confidence in the coalition tomorrow evening.