Organisers say they want the government to further reduce excise duty on fuel and remove the carbon tax.

The Government expects fuel prices to come down within hours.

Government leaders agreed a set of measures to help mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices sparked by the conflict in the Middle East.

Richmond defended the timing of the cut that will see excise duty on diesel cut by 20 cent and by 15 cent on petrol until the end of May.

A pint of beer in Ireland is levied with an excise rate of 55 cent, compared to just five cent in Germany.

The VFI is sounding the alarm that "insufficient measures" will push many pubs to the breaking point.

The Minister for Public Expenditure announced plans on Wednesday to spend more than two billion euro for projects under the National Development Plan.