The protesters who are demonstrating around the country over the hike in fuel prices will not be lobbying through representative organisations, like the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA) or the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), one of the protesters has said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, John Dallon, a Kildare contractor and one of the four people who have been appointed to talk to Government on behalf of the demonstrators, said they “won’t be lobbying through those channels, that’s for definite”.
This is “because some of the things they do we don’t agree with”, he said.
“There’s more than the one farm organisation. IFA represents themselves and the FCI represents the farm contractors of Ireland, now some of the contractors are not in the FCI. FCI represents around 300 contractor members. Just for clarity, there are seven farm organisations in Ireland,” he said.
Fuel protestors at the entrance to Foynes port in Co Limerick, April 9, 2026.
Smaller hauliers
When asked if he could not agree to lobby through these organisations on the fuel price issue, Dallon said: “There are a lot of the smaller hauliers that are not in the IRHA and they don’t agree with it and they want a voice separate from the IRHA. I know the Government is coming back and saying they’re only going to talk to reputable organisations,” he said.
However, Dallon said that the protesters have “a voice for Ireland”.
“We have a right and it’s not a big ask for the Government to sit down and talk to us and discuss the same thing as they discuss [with the other organisations],” he said.
Dallon said he can’t understand why the Government “can’t bring in three or four people appointed by the people of Ireland that represent the small farmers, the small haulage contractors, the bus companies... I mean I can’t understand why there is such a negative response to it,” he said.
The Kildare contractor said that four people had been nominated to go in and that it wasn’t “a big ask for four people to go in there from the four different sectors”.
Dallon said he “is a protester and doesn’t really represent anyone”. He said the demonstrators had demands sent into Government.
It wants white diesel to be capped at €1.60 to €1.70/l plus VAT, 90c/l on green diesel, the carbon tax to be abolished and the NORA and excise levies to be abolished.
A protester sits in the wheel of a tractor parked up on O'Connell Street, Dublin, on Wednesday. \ Philip Doyle
IFA
Francie Gorman, the IFA president, was later asked on Drivetime if he had an issue with the protesters meeting Government.
“I’ve no problem with Government meeting the individuals who are organising this, the problem is they said they only speak for themselves,” he said.
Gorman said that there is to be a meeting with Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon on the energy crisis on Friday.
He said this is an online meeting with 41 different individuals invited to attend.
The IFA president said that the IFA has had no feedback from Government on its proposals that it sent in following a meeting last week.
He said the move by Government to threaten to bring in gardaí and the army at protest locations “will only enrage people more”.
The protesters who are demonstrating around the country over the hike in fuel prices will not be lobbying through representative organisations, like the Irish Road Hauliers Association (IRHA) or the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), one of the protesters has said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, John Dallon, a Kildare contractor and one of the four people who have been appointed to talk to Government on behalf of the demonstrators, said they “won’t be lobbying through those channels, that’s for definite”.
This is “because some of the things they do we don’t agree with”, he said.
“There’s more than the one farm organisation. IFA represents themselves and the FCI represents the farm contractors of Ireland, now some of the contractors are not in the FCI. FCI represents around 300 contractor members. Just for clarity, there are seven farm organisations in Ireland,” he said.
Fuel protestors at the entrance to Foynes port in Co Limerick, April 9, 2026.
Smaller hauliers
When asked if he could not agree to lobby through these organisations on the fuel price issue, Dallon said: “There are a lot of the smaller hauliers that are not in the IRHA and they don’t agree with it and they want a voice separate from the IRHA. I know the Government is coming back and saying they’re only going to talk to reputable organisations,” he said.
However, Dallon said that the protesters have “a voice for Ireland”.
“We have a right and it’s not a big ask for the Government to sit down and talk to us and discuss the same thing as they discuss [with the other organisations],” he said.
Dallon said he can’t understand why the Government “can’t bring in three or four people appointed by the people of Ireland that represent the small farmers, the small haulage contractors, the bus companies... I mean I can’t understand why there is such a negative response to it,” he said.
The Kildare contractor said that four people had been nominated to go in and that it wasn’t “a big ask for four people to go in there from the four different sectors”.
Dallon said he “is a protester and doesn’t really represent anyone”. He said the demonstrators had demands sent into Government.
It wants white diesel to be capped at €1.60 to €1.70/l plus VAT, 90c/l on green diesel, the carbon tax to be abolished and the NORA and excise levies to be abolished.
A protester sits in the wheel of a tractor parked up on O'Connell Street, Dublin, on Wednesday. \ Philip Doyle
IFA
Francie Gorman, the IFA president, was later asked on Drivetime if he had an issue with the protesters meeting Government.
“I’ve no problem with Government meeting the individuals who are organising this, the problem is they said they only speak for themselves,” he said.
Gorman said that there is to be a meeting with Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon on the energy crisis on Friday.
He said this is an online meeting with 41 different individuals invited to attend.
The IFA president said that the IFA has had no feedback from Government on its proposals that it sent in following a meeting last week.
He said the move by Government to threaten to bring in gardaí and the army at protest locations “will only enrage people more”.
SHARING OPTIONS