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A chief spokesman for the nationwide fuel protests that filled O’Connell Street and brought swathes of the country to a halt in April of this year now says that a further round of protests may take place during the Irish Presidency of the EU and the proposed visit of President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, next month.
Posting a video entitled ‘fuel protestors part 2’ on TikTok today, James Geoghegan, an agricultural contractor from Westmeath, said that politicians wanted farmers and contractors to accept carbon tax which he said amounted to a pay cut when the postponed increase to diesel prices came through next month, while the same TDs voted themselves pay rises.
While the government had introduced emergency reductions in fuel excise in April as a result of the fuel protests, those reductions will expire on 31 July – a move the protest leader described as taking the “bit of help” that was given away again.
As a result, Geoghegan says in the widely watched video, meeting were being organised to discuss options including “blocking airports, to blocking ports” and blockading Dublin – including at the time of the visit of or when she comes to Dublin” during Ireland’s EU presidency next month.
He said that the farmers, agricultural contractors and hauliers who had come out in April were aiming to “start a campaign to stop all future carbon tax rises” by the government. “The silage will be over in a week’s time,” he noted, saying men were “absolutely raring to go”.
“We stepped down the protests when we got some bit of help and now they’re taking the help away. We’re going to have to step back up the protests,” Geoghegan told his followers. “We’re bringing everybody with us on this one,” he added saying that the fuel costs impacted “everybody who works, everybody who drives, especially people in rural Ireland”.
“Put in what you want done,” Geoghegan said to his viewers – who responded in their hundreds, mostly with messages of support.
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