Fuel Protest (Read MOD NOTE on first post)

I'm sure Richard O'Donnoghue, Michael and Danny Healy-Rae will be their spokespeople

I don't know the answer to that...I assume electric or perhaps hybrid tractors are on the way and provably already in service in a very limited fashion....and like anything it will be those with the most cash flow/biggest businesses will be the first adopters

But it's an assumption, there certainly are very few if any available now

I'd be reluctant to buy one tbh because

1. They are untested and unproven ...farm vehicles work in very different conditions to road vehicles
2. There might not be much of a dealer network or expertise on hand to fix if something goes wrong
3. Fixing would certainly involve complex diagnostics so spicy hourly rate and probably a long wait for someone to show up with diagnostics to tell you what the problem is dnd then maybe not be able to fix it on the spot...so possibly another wait
4. Im not sure on this but they I assume they will cost as much if not more than existing tech...probably
5. New traditional diesel machines are already increasing in complexity and beyond the ability of most amateur farmyard enthusiasts to fix if something goes wrong....sometimes that something is just a simple sensor but again you need the expertise sometimes....these new machines come with ad blue, dpfs, nox sensors etc and can cause no end of grief too so I'd say a lot wary of machines that need to pul 10, 20, 30 tonnes, drive through shite and muck, run implements on front and back pto for 12/14+ hrs days during peak season being hybrid or electric until it proves itself to be reliable and the cost isn't prohibitive even when you take fuel saving into account....now this is just an opinion but some of the high use of fuel could imo be attributed to the need to reduce emissions....the drive for reduction in emissions has 4 cylinder tractors pushing 150/175hp.....I often wonder if a less techy 6 cylinder with much greater displacement working at its ease would achieve the same output burning less diesel .... I had a 4 litre v8 diesel jeep a long time ago that happily cruised at well over 100km/hr at way less than 2000rpm ...do something similar with something below 2 litres but turboed and its way above that rpm…..it can be rated as better emissions wise though..(but that's just my own speculation, there might be a grain of truth that the emissions stuff could be counter productive in some ways but again I havent done the research its just mostly uninformed supposition)
6. I also often wonder if the environment would be far better off if instead of focussing on increasingly complex creature comforts machines were built to be bullet proof reliable and easily worked on and fixed ....but of course that's not the business model no more than light bulbs were designed to fail after a certain period in the past...
7. I wonder too if a lot of yhe work won't be more efficiently done via drone/autonomous tractor in the not too distant future with an operator tractor only doing certain tasks

I do know there's a Swiss company I think producing massive all electric dump truck (60+ tonne capacity) for the mining industry that doesn't need to be recharged and fills battery via regen on downhill so it's probably quite possible

But these things are the preserve of those with money that can take the risk initially

There is already all-electric tractors available, although it's been pointed out earlier on this thread that it would have limited usage on an Irish farm. Electric cars started in a similar way of not being fit for purpose, most were unable to get around the distance of a small golf course on one charge.

The longest range EV today is the EQS at 925km and Volvo have a range of Electric HGV trucks that can pull a full load for a number of hours. It's only a matter of time before the same level of tech, or better is available for the construction and farming industries.

Hmmm correct my if I am wrong but back this start of the price rises didn't Micheal Martin state that we get our oil from the North Sea mainly UK and Norway and not from Iran and therefore prices should not have been going up as they had.

I agree and beyond that I can see tasks like spraying for instance being done by drone, camera mapping AI etc...much less chemical used, more targeted etc etc

The timescale could be a lot longer than people think for widespread adoption however

The direction that machinery has taken is not fuel efficiency, it's more to do with exhaust emmissions, a new timber harvester will have numerous sensors and adblue, the same harvester with the same engine but without the sensors, exhaust gas recirculation or adblue are sold in non eu countries and are easier on fuel, getting more hp and higher output.

We are at a point where the diesel engines are over complicated to reduce emmissions but a comparable ev work machine are not available. It's not unusual for agri contractors to work 30 to 40 hours straight when the windows for work are available and timber harvesters work 24hr

Next thing I liked, the half billion plus wasn't divvied out to farmers and self employed truckers only. It was given to us all at the pumps. Brilliant.

It had to be.

Direct Subsidies and Tax Rebates take time.

The Crisis is here and now.

Also the majority of the public didn't support what they were protesting because they have a specific grá for Farmers or Truckers, they were supporting them primarily because their títs were being squeezed at the pumps too.

Also an important point, it's not just everyone that uses the pumps that should in theory benefit, Fuel Prices are one of the biggest factors that drive inflation, so even if you don't use a drop the benefit will be there for all.

I thought it seemed too good to be true but thats what the article indicated, it is a specific use case however, its loaded going down not up, stuff being moved to a cement factory I think.....so if you looked at overall operation there is no free lunch Im sure (laws of physics/energy conservation always apply)....Im also not sure how reliable the sources were...I'll link to one of the articles I was reading, a lad got it sent to him by an eV enthusiast and sent it on to me, I didn't do a deep dive

In September 2025 , I received the princely sum of 14 euros from DOAFM .If something as insignificant as that can be made publicly available why not all payments to all individuals irrespective of the source.
I’ve worked my entire life and I won’t be entitled to any social welfare but I don’t begrudge anyone who is on it .
What pisses me off big time is the vitriol that has been piled on those that protested and their all being tarred with the same brush .Everyone driving a tractor unit , a tractor or a bus is now; Right wing, a thicko ,thick as pig sh.t etc etc etc. Name your most egregious insult.

And it wasn’t just the keyboard warriors who were at this .We even have a TD who went public on his wanting the investigation of RTE reporting on the subject until he was , quite rightly, gagged by those higher up .

This fuel crisis is a global issue with fuel shortages and rising costs everywhere.

What's happening in other countries? What's happening in the EU? What's happening in Australia? What's happening in Canada?

Every country relies on farmers for crops and food and relies on hauliers for transporting goods. How are they coping in other countries? What's happening in other countries?

Is there an answer to fix this?

Publish every payment?

Every social welfare payment so we know how much the people across the road get?

Every illness benefit, so we know which neighbours take time off work?

Every salary of every public service employee?

Where do you draw the line?

In Germany they announced a package costing €1.6 billion.
Now when you consider the size of the Germany economy compared to ours, that's relatively a fraction of what the government announced.

Merz said his government had decided to cut the tax on petrol and diesel by around 17 cent for two months.

Employers will also be able to pay their staff tax-free bonuses of up to €1,000 to mitigate the impacts of inflation, which has already started rising in Germany, the government announced.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/0413/1567917-germany-to-cut-fuel-taxes/

Doesn't really explain the differences given the impact e.g. on sectors like agriculture.
Relatively agriculture is bigger % in Ireland but overall Germany's sector is much larger.