The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has said he will vigorously oppose any proposals for a decrease in fuel excise prices for road hauliers.
Rather than accepting a cut, he confirmed yesterday he may look for an increase in excise duties to bring Ireland into line with the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emissions - particularly as Ireland, along with many countries in the developed world, was already exceeding targets.
It is understood Mr Dempsey has written to his Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, and to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in the past few days outlining his strong opposition to reducing excise duties on diesel in response to the current protests.
While Mr Dempsey conceded "it may not be practical at the moment", he suggested there should be an increase in excise on fuel for all road users. "The hauliers were told any excise duty reduction will only be considered in a budgetary context and with the social partners," he said.
Even within the framework of the Budget, the Minister indicated he would make his objections clear. "I have my own views on the reduction of excise duties. There are environmental arguments."
"Other countries, including Britain, have increased their duties to protect the environment and to protect people's health," he added. Mr Dempsey was speaking in Killarney, where he opened two new relief roads in the town and addressed a conference on water services.
Looking for a decrease in excise was not a straightforward argument, and was a simplistic solution to a complex problem.
"We have already exceeded our emissions under the Kyoto protocol. Under that, we got permission to increase our greenhouse gases by 13 per cent on 1990 - we have already gone over the 13 per cent."
In a report on the Republic's greenhouse gas abatement strategy, Mr Dempsey said he would suggest ways to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. An increase in excise was one likely strategy and has been favoured by many governments. "The Government will have to make decisions based on that report. It will have wide-ranging effects on all sectors."
Increasing excise on petrol and diesel had several attractions, he said. It would cut down on people's use of petrol, encourage public transport, cut down on pollution and protect health and the environment.
The Minister advised hauliers to look to new technologies to reduce their use of fuel. He conceded the road hauliers' action would have a "catastrophic effect" if it were more than a one-day protest.
He added: "If it escalated it would be far more serious than the rail strike. Most of our goods are transported by road. We are hopeful this will be a token one-day protest."
The hauliers' dispute should be placed on the agenda at next week's meeting of the Dail Committee on Public Enterprise as a matter of urgency, according to the Fine Gael spokesperson on public enterprise, Mr Jim Higgins.
"I am calling on the chairman of the committee, Mr Sean Doherty, to put this crisis to the top of next week's meeting. If the Dail was sitting yesterday there would have been an emergency debate on the national action by hauliers," Mr Higgins said.
"There will never be a solution to any dispute unless people are willing to talk and to compromise. This country cannot afford to watch transport on the roads grind to halt while the Government stands by talking about budgets next December," he said.