Fuel talks to get under way, with new measures expected

Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has said the Government is preparing a new package to assist farmers, hauliers and consumers and he believes there will be news on that later.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh he said the Tánaiste is working on an intervention but needs to get EU agreement in some areas.

"I do believe we will have news on that in terms of an intervention that will reduce inflation, that will try and reduce the prices of groceries on the shelves for consumers and vulnerable people buying them and trying to underwrite the logistics of getting them to the shelves, supporting farmers in their production, supporting hauliers getting the groceries on our shelves," he said.

Minister Burke said the Tánaiste is engaging with the EU to seek flexibility on the EU excise directive that limits member states ability to reduce excise beyond a defined limit.

He said the Government and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance are also working hard with various representative organisations to get a solution to issues.

Ministers Darragh O' Brian, Martin Hedyon, Sean Canney and Timmy Dooley will meet in a round table format with the IRHA, the IFA, the ICMSA and other groups this afternoon.

Leaders of the fuel price protests have not been invited to attend, despite their claims earlier they would have a meeting with ministers today.

Representative James Geoghegan said they would join the meeting of farmers' groups with the Government, however it now seems clear that will not be the case.

The meeting is due to take place in the Department of Agriculture at 2pm between the four Government ministers and bodies and groups including the Irish Road Haulage Association, the IFA and the ICMSA.

The meeting is set to discuss the ongoing problems being experienced in the haulage and agricultural sectors due to high fuel prices and protests.

Earlier, Minister for Rural Community Development Dara Calleary reiterated that the invite to the meeting had been made to official representative bodies only but he said the Government had no issue if fuel protesters represented those bodies at the meeting.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said: "Certainly, if protesters come representing the farm organisations, we're not dictating that they can't come.

"We're meeting the representative organisations today.

We cannot meet groups who are stopping fuel, getting to communities, stopping fuel getting to farmers.

"We're not dictating to the representative organisations who they can't bring."
Resolving blockades is 'the most important thing' - minister
Minister Calleary said that resolving the blockades was "the most important thing".

"The focus of the mission is that we get a resolution to the blockades.

We can't have a situation where we have enough fuel in the country and that fuel isn't getting to our citizens."
IRHA President Ger Hyland said he did not know if fuel protesters would be attending the meeting but that his organisation had offered to raise their concerns.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Hyland said: "We spoke to intermediaries yesterday evening.

We offered to bring the concerns of the protesters to that meeting, as an honest broker, to try and come to some resolution between them and the Government because, at this stage, we need to get our country back moving again.

"It's up to Government who goes to a government meeting.

I can't decide who I'll bring and who I won't.

That is a decision for Government, who they bring to any meeting."
Meanwhile a three-day trade mission the Taoiseach was due to lead to Canada on Sunday has been postponed.

No formal reason has been given for the postponement but RTÉ understands it is due to the ongoing demonstrations and blockades by protestors around the country.