In a field in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, Liam Richardson is hard at it, planting spring barley.
An agriculture contractor, he's been in business, employing four others, for a decade - and says things are getting harder each year, especially when it comes to the price of fuel.
The tractor he’s driving uses around 250 litres of diesel daily for this work.
"This time last year it was costing me €220 to run it for the day and it’s now costing €335 to run it for the day. That's the difference," he says.
He speaks about paying 96 cent per litre a year ago, but those days now seem a long way off. This morning he paid €1.34.
"Fuel is probably costing me 40% more operating at the moment than it was this time last year. It’s having a huge impact. It’s very hard to charge it on to already struggling customers who can't actually pay that extra money. They don't have it on their side either."
And it’s not just the rising price of diesel that’s causing concern - everything else is seemingly up too, he says.
"The cost of everything - barrels of oil, servicing the machines, wearing parts, everything has completely doubled."
Liam took part in the fuel protests earlier this month.
"I went out of sheer frustration. We felt nobody was listening to us. The groups that were representing, we feel maybe they didn't represent us as good as they should have, and we felt the Government just wasn't listening to us, which is very disappointing, really."
Liam is awaiting the exact details of the Government’s multi-million euro response to the fuel crisis, but says it will make a positive impact.
He estimates that he’s in line for a rebate of over €10,000. But he does have some concerns about how long he might have to wait before it lands in his account, saying the money is much needed.
"It will make a difference. But when are we going to get the rebate? This is the issue. Because cash flow is a serious problem.
"If we’re going to get it in July or August … it'll be too long to wait for. If we apply for the rebate next week, will we get it back within 10 days, or is it going to take half the year?"
He’s calling for the Government to ensure rebates are paid speedily, and "very soon", saying there are lots of contractors going to go out of business if the system isn’t quick enough.
"I know the rebate system will be good, but it needs to be sped up. It needs to be done faster … I talked to my accountant the other day, and they hadn't heard anything yet."
Liam would also like to see a cap on the price of fuel, saying that would be "ideal". He added that the price volatility is playing havoc with the prices he can charge his customers.
"I couldn't tell you what the fuel is going to be next week," he says.
