Fuel Protests - Dublin 11 April

MrMusician18

Tomorrow a large protest is being organised by a group calling themselves "The People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices". The last time they had their day out it turned into a damp squib, but the warnings about disruption tend to point to this being more disruptive. They seem to be a rag tag bunch organising through your favourite social media platforms as per usual.

Among their demands is a price cap. The caps the group are seeking are €1.10 per litre for petrol, €1.20 per litre for diesel, 65c per litre for green diesel and 65c per litre for home heating oil. Oh and the resignation of Eamonn Ryan.

Given that the price of fuel is being driven by global events well outside of the government's control, it strikes me as a completely pointless protest that will only disrupt the ordinary working stiff.

Tldr, avoid Dublin city centre tomorrow.

I'd support them just for getting rid of ER.

gipi

And, as the Dáil are in recess, who are they going to protest to?

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118908908#Comment_118908908

Like that's going to happen.

The rest of the Government would all be thinking who else is going get cancelled next.

Faugheen

A group of truckers are happy to sit in town for days while they all miss out on income they would earn if they were actually working.

Don't believe it for one second.

Once it's over by Wednesday evening. I've to drive to Dublin Thursday morning with my son for a hospital appointment

elperello

They are threatening to dig in for more than a week.

https://www.thejournal.ie/haulier-protest-dublin-monday-5733674-Apr2022/

Damien360

The pricing request on fuel is unrealistic but if you think it’s just a few truckers effected you are fooling yourselves.

The cost of transport is rising fast and that has a knock on effect with food prices. Wages are not rising to meet those costs for workers or small firms.

Not all those rises are caused by world events and you should ask how much taxation on transport is too much. A carbon tax added so we can be the best in the world and get a clap on the back of self congratulations that our tiny contribution will save the rest of the world.

Be prepared to pay a lot more for meat as we cull our herd to cut emmisions. Don’t worry some other country will make up the shortfall but we will pay the price for this. I’d like to see farmers join in and point this out but they will get attacked by the media as the greedy mob looking for handouts (which keep food prices down for the consumer) and their protest will fall on its face.

As a nation we don’t protest about anything but grumble about it instead.

The protest will effect my journey tomorrow but I will happily sit in it and tell my customers when I eventually arrive that the truckers are right to protest.

DarkJager21

Every motorist in the country should be behind this protest, best of luck to them

Polar101

Great.. idiots blocking the streets to protest when the politicians are on their holidays.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909082#Comment_118909082

Why should every motorist be behind them? What mandate have these protesters? As a motorist, I think it's a stupid protest and will only serve to piss off anyone who might have sympathy with them.

DarkJager21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909128#Comment_118909128

Because we are being screwed over and over and over, from fuel prices to motor tax rates to roads being reduced in size for pointless unused cycle lanes, all overseen by a minister of transport who’s a **** cyclist and rabidly anti motorist. I hope they grind the place to a **** halt for 10 days.

Just to point out that to meet their demands the govt would have to either slash spending (health, education and social services would be hit badly as the biggest costs) or massively increase taxes to cover the cost of reducing fuels.

Neither is going to happen.

In other news, the reddit thread on the protest is hilarious. The general public think little of the protest and their demands

https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/u0nrze/details_of_fuel_protest_tomorrow/

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909141#Comment_118909141

That still won't change the price of fuel.

Rather ironically, some of the supporters of the individual that's caused this will be out tomorrow, if previous protests are anything to go by.

BorneTobyWilde

The trouble with the fuel price is that vat was expected to be on fuel in a 0.70 - 1.00 price range. Todays fuel prices have 0.40 cent per litre vat on it, that's nuts, no one expect 2 euro a litre fuel. Government expected to take 23c max on fuel for every litre, when it got to 1.23 a litre, as in 0.23 was vat.

But now at 2 euro a litre they take 0.40 c, that's nuts, Vat should be capped at 0.23 per litre of fuel, even if fuel was 10 euro a litre.

They should not get 10 times vat, just because the price of fuel is 10 euro a litre, you still are only getting a litre of fuel.

So the little guy pays ten times the price, while also they only got 1 lousy litre of fuel.

BorneTobyWilde

Vat is the issue, it should be capped at 0.23 per litre, that way the government get what THEY ALWAYS GOT 0.23!, So they lose not a thing, while it saves the public a lot, as also most people don't, and can't claim back that vat, so it goes straight into Governments pockets.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909205#Comment_118909205

Vat on fuel is 13.5% iirc.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909205#Comment_118909205

Should the same be done with stamp duty?

What about VRT?

Or VAT on anything else?

At the end of the day taxation pays for a lot services and you'd want to be very very sure you want to give up that tax when you have things like 200,000 Ukrainian refugees, housing shortages, covid still hanging about etc etc.

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909215#Comment_118909215

No, it's 0.23% on petrol and diesel

Fandymo

Ireland, the land of the thousand me feiners. Whinge about the price of everything, then whinge when someone tries to do something about it.

I like that they're against fuel prices in general, not high fuel prices or low fuel prices, just fuel prices at all.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909225#Comment_118909225

If it were an actual possibility that this protest could achieve anything, while I might not support it, I could at least understand it. The Irish government are not going to stop the war in Ukraine.

The off the wall demands of this group are completely unattainable. And since they are such a disparate loose collective, they have no spokesperson and no leader, so no one to negotiate with.

All this group will achieve is lost time and wasted fuel for the average Joe trying to go about their business.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909226#Comment_118909226

Major brains behind the operation as you can tell.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909236#Comment_118909236

Ah yeah. And I'm sure if they were to get their way and the government went further and put a cap on what they can charge per delivery or per km or per hour they'd be all in favour of that as well.

rolling boh

Complete waste of time will achieve nothing .Price of fuels has gone mad but the powers that be will do nothing and even if they made some sort of gesture they would recoup it somewhere else .People should have a right to protest I accept that so will have to suck it up .

Reading the comments is kind of shocking but a lot of Irish people are very passive.

This is the one point in my life that I am truly terrified of the cost of living and genuinely worried about being able to feed my family if costs go up much more. I don't even live in a city and I have a good salary.

I completely understand that there is a war going on but there is HUGE price gouging going on. The recent increase in electricity being one. SSE 100% renewable electricity, hmmm.. From every window at the back of this house, I can see wind turbines.

When you pay taxes, you want someone you can spend the money wisely to get value for money. That isn't happening.

I don't support this government and I support the truckers. Someone needs to protest and say enough is enough.

We are working to pay bills only and I am sick and genuinely petrified.

rock22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909394#Comment_118909394

So you would be happy to pay more tax to subsidise the truckers fuels bills?

smurfjed

@rock22 if the Government set a fixed duty on fuel rather than a percentage plus VAT, the price of fuel wouldn't fluctuate so much and would be cheaper. And nobody would have to pay more tax.

Pussyhands

Go on lads! Cause carnage! Why are Irish people such wimps? Why do you lie down and take what's given to ya? Make these idiots feel uncomfortable and force them into change that they would do if they really wanted to anyways.

Look at the response to the Ukrainians yet we've had a housing crisis for a decade and all the government have done is drive prices higher.

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909469#Comment_118909469

Because most Irish people understand that fuel prices rising is a global issue.

Also, easy for someone like you to tell people to 'cause carnage' when it has zero impact on your life. The demands of this faceless organisation with nobody for the government to negotiate with are off the charts. They want fuel prices to return to 2009 levels. Never going to happen.

Also, the Dail is in recess this week. Literally the worst time to make a statement like this.

All it does is piss off the average motorist who will have to sit in traffic and burn off petrol that is costing them just as much as it costs these cowboys. Who's going to pay for that when this crowd don't get the demands they want?

'Force them into change' - this crowd won't force anything. They're workers, they can't afford to give up too much of their own time because if they're not on the road, they're not getting paid. Pointless exercise just designed to piss people off.

pjohnson

Fuel is so expensive for truckers they can afford to waste it on a stunt like this.

PokeHerKing

Dont think I've gotten into the office quicker. M50 is clear was clear.

is_that_so

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909494#Comment_118909494

Easter school holidays and that WFH is a standard option for many most likely.

Sums up Ireland today and Beards.ie if I'm honest.

Ths negativity against the protest here is astounding.

These people are at least getting out there and making a stand.

Everyone is aware taxes are needed however it's taking advantage at this stage.

People here saying it's pointless the Dail is off etc and theres a war on seem happy to pay it must have loads of money.

Everyone knows the TDs watch social media and main stream so this will get traction.

Pointless or not fair play to the truckers and I would wish that the selfish naysayers on here would look at the bigger picture for once and not their own journeys.

Sure take the bike to work as most appear anti vehicle with loads of money to buy EVs.

Because we all know EV power is made by fairies.

Rural ireland does not have busses or trains like the capital. We dont have cycle lanes or a network like Dublin

People rely on their cars they need them. People and families are struggling when will it stop?

Taking fuel VAT on unit price on both heating and vehicle should be capped and the carbon tax removed.

The government should cut their cloth to measure and not spend outside their means.

Fairplay to the truckers and if I could afford the time and money to drive up I would support them.

Hurrache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909469#Comment_118909469

You want Ireland to invade an oil rich middle eastern country so?

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909656#Comment_118909656

Why would we need to invade an oil rich middle eastern country? Are they setting our ridiculous tax policies? Are they the reason Standing Charges are rising to crazy levels?

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909605#Comment_118909605

Sums up boards.ie and Ireland but it's ok for you to not join them as you haven't got the time.

The negativity against the protest does not reflect Ireland or attitudes but that people just don't support it.

Fuel prices are completely beyond the control of the government and they have already reduced 20ct off a litre and also offered relief to hauliers per truck.

As you say a country has to raise taxes so anything cut off for petrol has to be made up somewhere else.

Also, calling for Eamon Ryan to resign for basically giving some practical advice is just personalizing it as he is nothing to do with the prices at the moment.

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909605#Comment_118909605

Ah yeah the old ‘anyone against this must have loads of money’ argument.

Nice generalisation there. This protest won’t achieve anything except pissing people off. That’s why I’m annoyed becauae I’ll be caught up in it everyday burning all the petrol out of my car while they block the entire city.

Their demands are astronomical. How would you pay it? If they came with anything reasonable I’d have more support but they’re looking for prices to go back to 2009.

Last time this stunt was pulled cancer patients missed their appointments. But f*ck them, eh? They must be loaded so it doesn’t matter.

Pure ignorant bile.

Allinall

Idiots wasting fuel driving empty trucks into Dublin to complain about fuel prices.

Did I say they were idiots? Well they are idiots.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909605#Comment_118909605

"getting out there and making a stand" by disrupting other peoples lives.

We have cheap fuel by European standards as it is.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909141#Comment_118909141

Firstly, Eamonn Ryan has nothing to do with this and has pretty much no control over taxation. He wasn't even involved in the carbon taxes. He is just used by people with no clue as a stick to wave around while moaning about government policy. To my knowledge Ryan also owns a car.

As for grinding the place to a "**** halt for 10 days" - are you mental? You really want a bunch of anonymous protesters to risk the economy over this? How many jobs would that affect? Is that what you want or was your childish post simply the voice of a 10 year old trying to feel like they are William Wallace?

The fact that they chose to protest when the Dáil is in recess shows that there isn't much brain power behind this group.The fact that they think staying anonymous is beneficial to their cause shows that there is no PR skills there, there is no one figure to be interviewed on the news. Also their threats of protest until they get what they want is pretty much in line with someone hijacking a plane - the line that "governments won't negotiate with terrorists" springs to mind. The government of Ireland are presumably thinking to themselves that this is a bunch of numpties who will piss off the public and will serve to distract from something else - time for them to release some bad news.

Whatever about the merits of protesting against the costs of fuel these days, this particular protest is a poorly thought out idea and seems to have been "organised" by pretty thick people (but I guess it seems to have the support of some pretty thick people also).

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909605#Comment_118909605

Classic armchair cheerleader. Excuses excuses.

You could buy and burn out a chunk of fuel at the very least in solidarity but you wont.

Igotadose

Interesting comment on the reddit thread. Since when does Ireland call its hauliers, "truckers?" That's a US term. Wonder whose stirred this sh1te up.

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909732#Comment_118909732

Absolute nonsense. VAT on fuel is 23%, so if it was around €1 it'd be 23c a litre, €1.50 it would be 34c a litre. So if the war hadn't happened it wouldn't be at around 46c a litre. Almost double what it was previously. They could easily reduce the VAT and still take in what they would normally.

Pinch Flat

Cycled in this morning. Roads lovely and clear. Might be the mid term break as well, lots of people away and schools off.

Phil.x

I hope they block the cycle lanes

rolling boh

With schools shut and people working from home traffic seems OK went up and m50 no problem . Looks like folk stayed at home if they could .I know we are passive with regard to actually getting out and protesting but this one is a waste time and fuel for these guys . They will achieve nothing bar a negative reaction in general .

Sale of Turf ban proposed from Sept 1

https://extra.ie/2022/04/11/news/turf-sale-ban

crazy

Hurrache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909713#Comment_118909713

Have a re-read of their demands, particularly around what they want fuel capped at.

Either invasion, or new tax and/or increases or cuts in spending on everything else in the state,

Let's not forget the 9am protest on O'Connell Street from these folks, wonder how its going?

https://twitter.com/evelyn_orourke/status/1513429549719212037?t=YrQvTFMt2ViwmsJJjHylQg&s=19

https://twitter.com/evelyn_orourke/status/1513437711352442883?t=6oXCNm7mmC1Cb7JXWLVvzQ&s=19

Not a sinner there, oh well

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118909805#Comment_118909805

I know the thought of people using bikes keeps you awake at night, but the fact that most cycle lanes are blocked by motor vehicles most of the time anyway means people are well used to it, plus you can just go around things on a bike. You really are spiteful when it comes to these things.