Tánaiste Simon Harris, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon, and representatives of the farm contractor sector have agreed to meet again on fuel costs.

This was one of the results of a meeting yesterday evening (Wednesday, April 1) between the two ministers and the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI), as well as the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA).

A statement issued by both the FCI and the Tánaiste's office said that the meeting was constructive, and that the participants agreed to meet again on the issue soon.

"Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris, and Minister...Martin Heydon met this evening with the [FCI] and the [IFA] to discuss the impact of rising energy costs arising from the ongoing conflict in the Gulf," the statement said, referring to the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

That war in the Persian Gulf region - a major oil producing region - has led to serious disruption in global oil supply, resulting in sharp rises in fuel costs, particularly green diesel.

The statement after yesterday's meeting went on: "The central focus of the meeting was to establish a structured and ongoing process of engagement over the coming days, weeks and months as part of a whole-of-government approach.

"These are serious challenges facing the agricultural sector, and addressing them will require close and coordinated contact between government and the sector to protect farm family incomes and safeguard the state's food security," it added.

The statement noted that "a range of specific proposals" were put forward by the FCI, and that the meeting saw "constructive discussion on the need for a range of possible targeted interventions".

"There is no single solution, and the uncertainty surrounding the duration and trajectory of the conflict further complicates the response," the statement said.

"There was agreement to reconvene shortly."

Contractors

One contractor told Agriland this week that the cost to fill a tractor with green diesel has effectively doubled since the Middle East conflict started.

Eoin O Muircheartaigh said "It's gone from maybe 96-97c/L up to €1.71-€1.75c/L at times. The worst is that there is talk about it going up a lot more or maybe being rationed as well.

"Before the tractors were costing €300 to fill per day, now they're costing just short of €600/day," he added.

"That's only one tractor, when you're on about five, six or seven tractors to fill, it's a massive cost and there's no-one going to be able to carry that," he added.