Irish hauliers have suspended a planned protest over fuel prices after a last-minute intervention by Ireland’s transport minister, but the dispute is far from over. The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) said it had paused Tuesday’s action to allow for talks with Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien, following warnings that rising diesel prices, tolls and other charges were pushing parts of the sector towards crisis.
The protest had been expected to take place in Dublin on Tuesday, 10 March, after the IRHA warned it was prepared to escalate with rolling action affecting key routes and airports. On Monday evening, however, the association confirmed that the demonstration was being suspended pending the outcome of talks with the minister.
According to the Irish Examiner, the breakthrough came after direct contact between O’Brien and IRHA president Ger Hyland. The association said a face-to-face meeting would take place once the minister returned from Brazil. The minister’s office said he recognised the concerns raised by hauliers and would meet the group next week.
The IRHA has argued that the latest fuel shock, linked to turmoil in Middle Eastern oil markets, has exposed what it sees as the heavy tax burden on fuel in Ireland. The association is calling for a temporary suspension of carbon tax on fuel, the removal of the M50 toll, and a broader review of fuel taxation. Irish fuel price data published by AA Ireland for February 2026 shows tax accounted for around 60% of diesel pump prices and 65% of petrol prices, while diesel carbon tax stood at 18.74 cents per litre.
The row also comes against a backdrop of higher road charges. Transport Infrastructure Ireland said toll increases took effect from 1 January 2026, including a 20-cent rise on the M50 for heavy goods vehicles over 10,000kg with a video account.
Before the protest was halted, Hyland had warned that rising transport costs would feed directly into the wider economy, affecting the price of goods delivered by road. He also raised the possibility of emergency support similar to Ireland’s 2022 Licensed Haulage Emergency Support Scheme, which provided €100 per week for eight weeks for each eligible HGV during the previous fuel-price crisis.
For now, though, the Government has not announced any concrete concession on fuel duty, carbon tax or tolls. What it has offered is dialogue. That means the immediate protest has been avoided, but the threat of further action remains if the upcoming talks fail to deliver practical relief for hauliers.
