Government face plenty of scrutiny despite fuel supports
James Cox
Here, we have a look at the issues likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come.
Support package
The only topic this week will be the fuel protests.
The cost of a litre of petrol or diesel will fall by 10 cent from midnight on Tuesday after the Cabinet agreed a €505 million support scheme.
The Carbon Tax increase planned for the May 1st has also been deferred until the budget in October.
Separate packages have been confirmed with the agriculture and haulage sectors - with hauliers to receive graduated payments for three months depending on the size of the business.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the measures will be paid for from the national surplus - but it may mean less can be done in the budget.
Criticism
This will be far from the end of the controversy for the Coalition.
Sinn Féin is due to table a motion of no confidence in the Dáil, although it will be largely symbolic as it would need the support of government-supporting Independents, which is unlikely.
Independent Ireland said the measures "are too little too late".
Cork TD Ken O'Flynn said the Government has failed to listen, and failed to address the concerns of people across Ireland.
He said the discontent around the country is not solely about fuel prices but reflects broader concerns - with a growing sense that taxpayers’ money is not being used effectively.
The Labour Party said the Government has abandoned PAYE workers with the package of supports announced tonight.
The party's finance spokesperson Ged Nash said the chaos of the last few days has seen the Government’s authority drain away.
The Green Party has reacted by calling on the Government to urgently clarify the impact of the delay in carbon tax increases.
Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said while they welcome the targeted measures to assist farmers, fishing and the haulage sector - the delay in the carbon tax increase announced today means there's going to be a gap between what the Government has promised to spend, and what it's expected to take in.
Abroad
President Donald Trump on Sunday said the US Navy would immediately start blockading the Strait of Hormuz and would also interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran.
Trump made his remarks in a Truth Social post hours after US - Iran peace talks ended without a deal. Trump said the meeting "went well, most points were agreed," but added the two sides had not agreed on Iran's nuclear programme.
Hungary's veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orban conceded defeat on Sunday after a landslide election victory by the upstart opposition Tisza party, in a setback for his allies in Russia and US president Donald Trump's White House.
Results based on 46 per cent of votes counted showed the centre-right, pro-EU Tisza party of Peter Magyar winning 135 seats - or a crucial two-thirds majority - in the 199-member parliament, ahead of Orban's Fidesz party.
