The Irish government has announced further fuel support for some workers and businesses, after nationwide protests in recent weeks.

Irish government ministers are insisting the package of support was being worked on by the government before the protests, which saw many major motorways, as well as the main street in the nation's capital, brought to an effective standstill.

Before nationwide protests kicked off, excise duty had already been cut on petrol and diesel.

But since the protests, there have been further cuts to diesel and petrol, and a package of support for farmers, hauliers and coach drivers has been promised.

The details of this package were laid out by Irish government ministers on Wednesday at Government buildings in Dublin.

The Road Transporters Supports Scheme is worth €120m (£104m) and is for hauliers and bus and coach operators.

This scheme will be backdated to March and will apply from when average national diesel prices exceeded €1.90 per litre (£1.65), which is being benchmarked at the point at which fuel costs become unsustainable for commercial transport operators.

Payments will be graduated and based on the number of vehicles an operator has on their license.

Operators who own up to and including five vehicles will receive €1,350 (£1,170) per vehicle; operators who own six to 20 vehicles will receive €790 (£685), and operators with over 21 vehicles will receive €300 (£260).

Applications will open in May for the scheme.

Second scheme

A second scheme announced today, called the Fuel Support Scheme, is aimed at farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers, costing €100m (£87m).

This will also be backdated to cover March to the end of July and will support those who are impacted by hikes to green diesel, used mostly by farmers and agricultural contractors.

They will receive a support rate which is equivalent to around 20 euro cents a litre or €200 per 1,000 litres of marked gas oil (also known as green diesel) based on verified usage in 2025.

The Irish government is also launching a communications campaign with advice on how households and businesses can manage their energy costs.

In total, the Irish government has spent €755m (£654m) on fuel supports in recent months, including today's announcement as well as previous excise duty cuts.

Annual planned increases to the carbon tax have also been delayed.

Irish transport minister Darragh O'Brien said the package is "timebound and targeted".

"We will retain the ability to respond further should we need to, but we have to manage the finances in a sustainable way," he said.

Irish agriculture minister Martin Heydon said the Irish government are "responding in real time" to challenges.

'Shrug your shoulders'

However, opposition parties in Dublin are strongly critical of the support put forward by the government.

Speaking in the Dail (Irish parliament) on Wednesday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said: "Households find it more and more harder to pay their electricity bill".

Sinn Féin has called for energy credits, which take money off all household electricity bills, as well as an emergency budget.

"Your government, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, simply shrug your shoulders," she said.

"How many families have to fall behind on their electricity bills before you wake up?"

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin told the opposition leader he "fully rejects" McDonald's analysis.