Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon hopes to be able to pay out the €100m fuel support scheme payment to farmers and contractors “before the end of July”.

The minister told the Irish Farmers Journal on Tuesday – a week to the day since nationwide protests saw ports blockaded and go-slow convoys of tractors and trucks on major road networks – that the plan is that it will be one single application, based on fuel usage in 2025.

“If it was based on this year’s usage, I wouldn’t be able to pay out until way after the end of July,” Minister Heydon said. “My hope and my intention is to be in a position to pay out... before the end of July.

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“I’ve also reached out to the banks, and I’m meeting them in the coming days as well to explain this scheme, for them to understand that, particularly contractors, but also farmers will have this money coming. In terms of the forbearance that’s required, that that’s a key element to that as well,” he said.

Minister Heydon said that the basis of the scheme is based on being able to pay farmers up to 20c/l for green diesel.

So effectively, €274 will be the value of the package to the farmer for every 1,000l of green diesel

“If you take a 1,000-litre fill of green diesel, the subsidy will be worth €200, with €74 coming off the excise. So effectively, €274 will be the value of the package to the farmer for every 1,000l of green diesel, a really significant intervention that will make a very big difference.

“It is backdated to 1 March, because that’s when the spike in oil prices came and it’s €20m a month, of which €5m is for our fishery, forestry and horticulture sectors; we’ll need a bespoke design scheme for them.

“We anticipate that of the 105m litres of green diesel that is burnt every month at this time of the year, about 75m litres of that is for agricultural purposes.

“We estimate that split 50/50 between individual farmers and contractors. This is targeted based on usage,” he said.

What we saw with the protest was an outpouring of the frustration and hurt that a lot of genuine people were feeling

The last week in particular has been really challenging, the minister said.

“What we saw with the protest was an outpouring of the frustration and hurt that a lot of genuine people were feeling in terms of real concern about the future of their businesses.

“Whether it’s farmers, contractors, fishers, hauliers and others, they were looking at the massive impact of the energy spike, obviously caused by the war in Iran, not something Government can control, and Government was reacting in real time.

“So, I can absolutely understand where people’s frustration and how that boiled over, and it wasn’t hard for others to tap into that,” he added.

“I also understand that, you know, the package in the end of March, from a farmer perspective, wasn’t seen to be sufficient.

“There were very clear reasons for that.

“We said very clearly, as a Government: it was our first intervention, it wouldn’t be our last.

“There was a very specific intervention we were doing that was only on the non-carbon element of excise, of which there’s very little on green diesel.

“It meant the capacity to reduce much of green diesel’s cost on the tax excise side, was very limited at that point, working within the constraints of the EU rules regarding the energy directive,” he said.

Commenting on the lack of engagement with the protesters, which saw Government refuse to meet with any representatives of those on the streets, the minister said the Government’s only option is to deal with democratically elected bodies.

Only option

“I engage with all the representative bodies – the democratically elected bodies – which is the only option open to us in Government; to work with people who have a mandate from their members, who have properly constituted organisations, you know, and to engage with them,” he explained.

I’m always acutely aware we all have to continue to explain to the general public the work that our farmers do

“It is important for everyone to bear in mind the time will come where there’ll be a national discussion around CAP, agriculture’s standing with the general public will matter. We need to protect that.

“I’m always acutely aware we all have to continue to explain to the general public the work that our farmers do, the importance of the sector to our economy.

“And if any of us ever take that for granted, or think what the general public think of us doesn’t matter, it’s really going to matter,” the minister said.