Adam Hanbidge from Kildare on his phone on O'Connell Street on the second day of the fuel prices protests this week. The initial spark was anger in certain sectors, Why was the tax cut on green diesel so small? There are longer term issues too, which have raised their head in the tangled economics of the fuel protests. One is the future of the carbon tax and whether it will continue to rise each year, if fossil fuel prices remain high. Carbon tax is also used to raise money to fund certain spending programmes, mainly environmental programmes, green farm supports and welfare spending.

Source: The Irish Times April 11, 2026 06:09 UTC