Irish road hauliers meet tonight at the Green Isle hotel, Co Dublin, to finalise plans for disruptive action on Friday over rising fuel prices.
However, the president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Mr Gerry McMahon, held out the prospect last night that action could be averted if the Government offered "copper-fastened guarantees" of measures to ease the problem.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has agreed to meet the IRHA tomorrow to discuss its grievances. Meanwhile, inflation figures for August are due out today and could see renewed pressure from trade unions for measures to reduce indirect taxes on oil products and other items.
Mr McMahon expressed "a degree of optimism" last night that Friday's protest could be called off. "If I feel after meeting the Taoiseach that I have something positive to relay back to the branches I will do so." He was "trying to leave the door open" for a settlement.
The IRHA would not reveal its possible tactics on Friday to ensure they have maximum effect. However, it has made provision for a further meeting of members on Thursday if anything substantive comes out of tomorrow's meeting with Mr Ahern.
The IRHA spokesman said hauliers needed firm commitments because they had absorbed the cost of rising fuel prices for 18 months and could wait no longer. Ideally, the IRHA wants an immediate 20 per cent cut in duty on diesel but Mr McMahon was willing to look at alternative measures.
Earlier Mr Ahern repeated the Government stance that any cut in diesel prices would have to be dealt with in "a budgetary context". He was meeting the IRHA to "explore their problems and their difficulties".
"We will certainly listen to what they have to say but I think the position is we have to deal with these things in a budgetary context."
He said the country did not need anything which disrupted the economy. "We have to do what we can to resolve these kind of problems. I would not like to see difficulties escalate as they have in other countries. The arguments are quite different here than they are in other countries but we need to explore that."
He said representatives of the hauliers had asked for the meeting and he was happy to sit down and discuss issues with them.
The Taoiseach welcomed the decision by OPEC ministers to increase oil production to bring the price of crude oil down to the $22 to $28 a barrel rate.
He said we were heading for a situation where the price of a barrel of crude oil could have drifted to $30 before Christmas. Twenty months ago a barrel of oil cost only $11. "This announcement [from OPEC] will certainly help the situation. But it is not going to change overnight."
Mr Ahern predicted it would be November before the result of the increase in production would take effect here.