The Irish Government has announced a new €120 million Road Transporters Support Scheme to help hauliers and bus operators cover fuel costs.
What's in this new package of supports?
Officially, this is the Road Transporters Support Scheme (RTSS), and it's aimed at hauliers, 'own account' road haulage operators and bus and coach operators, while there's also the new Fuel Support Scheme for farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers.
Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien said: "The Road Transporters Support Scheme recognises the vital role played every day by hauliers and bus and coach operators in keeping Ireland moving, supporting jobs, and maintaining our essential supply chains. This targeted support is designed to relieve immediate cost pressures while ensuring continuity of services for families, businesses and communities across the country. It reflects our strong commitment to working closely with the sector to protect capacity and resilience at a critical time.
"I and my team in the Department have worked closely with stakeholders to deliver these meaningful supports. The RTSS will be administered by the Department of Transport, and significant progress has been made in developing the system and application process.”
How does the scheme work?
For farmers and farm forestry workers, the RTSS will be open for applications from users by mid-May, and payments to defray the increased costs of diesel fuel, driven upwards by Donald Trump's continuing mess of a war against Iran. The RTSS will offer support of up to 20c per litre of Marked Gas Oil (agri-diesel to you and me), which is equivalent to €200 off every 1,000 litres and should add up to an effective discount of around €274 per 1,000 litres of fuel, if you also include the measures announced following the nationwide fuel protests in April.
Each applicant, if successful, will be given a one-off payment to cover up to five months, rather than receiving a monthly payment. They'll be asked to supply proof of their 2025 use over 12 months so that the payments can be calculated.
For hauliers, the plan is to effectively hold the cost of diesel at €1.90 per litre, as according to the Government: "This threshold reflects the point at which fuel costs become unsustainable for many commercial transport operators.” Payments will be structured according to the number of vehicles a company operates, according to the below:
Up to and including 5 vehicles per operator: €1,350 per vehicle
For vehicles 6 to 20 per operator: €790 per vehicle
For vehicles 21+: €300 per vehicle
What about those of us not involved in the haulage industry?
For the rest of us, the Government points out that it's now put some €755 million into the economy in the form of fuel tax cuts and other subventions and discounts, and that there's a number of grants available for the likes of solar power and heat pumps to help households reduce their dependency on heating oil and gas.
The same 12 months' receipts for diesel used in 2025 will be needed, and as with the agriculture sector, applicants must be VAT-registered and tax-compliant.