Fuel blockade risks halting construction activity as CIF seeks urgent State intervention
Industry warns of escalating costs and supply disruption as fuel shortages threaten housing and infrastructure delivery
11 April 2026 | editor@breakingground.news
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has called for the immediate end to ongoing fuel blockades and for urgent Government intervention to mitigate the impact of escalating fuel costs on Ireland’s construction sector.
The intervention follows mounting concern across the industry that disruptions to fuel supply, linked to geopolitical instability and blockades at fuel depots and key transport routes, could bring construction activity to a standstill in the coming weeks.
The CIF has warned that construction sites are heavily dependent on fuel to operate essential plant and machinery, including excavators and cranes. Any sustained interruption to supply is expected to directly affect project timelines across housing and infrastructure delivery.
The organisation also highlighted the broader inflationary impact of the fuel crisis, noting that key construction materials such as cement, concrete and steel are produced through energy-intensive processes. This has led to sharp cost increases in recent weeks, compounding existing pressures in a sector where a significant majority of firms had already reported rising raw material costs.
As an island economy, Ireland’s construction supply chain is particularly exposed to transport and logistics costs. The CIF reports that fuel-related disruptions are now affecting the movement of materials, with early indications that concrete deliveries and other time-sensitive supplies are being delayed due to blockades at ports and along national transport routes.
The federation has outlined a series of measures it says are necessary to stabilise the sector and protect delivery capacity. These include further reductions in excise duties on fuel, with more than half of pump prices currently accounted for by taxation, and targeted action on marine gas oil (MGO), the primary fuel used in construction machinery.
While recent Government measures reduced mineral oil tax on standard diesel by 20 cent per litre, the reduction applied to green diesel was limited to 3 cent per litre. The CIF has stated that this differential fails to address the cost pressures facing construction operators.
Additional measures proposed include the temporary removal of VAT on fuel, in line with measures adopted in other EU states, a pause on planned carbon tax increases, and a suspension of the concrete levy to offset rising input costs.
The CIF has emphasised that the sector remains central to the delivery of Ireland’s housing targets and critical infrastructure pipeline. However, it has warned that without immediate intervention to address fuel supply and cost volatility, there is a growing risk that project delivery will be significantly disrupted.
