Main Points
- There is significant traffic disruption for some commuters this morning as fuel protests continue on a number of national routes this morning
- On the M3/N3, a blockade has closed southbound lanes between junction 11, and junction 9, on the M9, there is heavy congestion following disruption between junction 3 junction 2
- The ongoing protests come after the Government unveiled a €505m support package for farmers and hauliers
- The measures were dismissed by some central figures in the recent protests as ‘not enough’
- It could take at least five days for fuel supplies to return to normal
- Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has suggested that processes at a senior Government level can be “improved,” after the Minister for Justice last week made a surprise announcement that the army were being called in to clear blockades
Best Reads
- Coalition’s worst week shows Ireland unprepared for economic deterioration
- How the fuel protests brought the country to a standstill
- Fuel protests reveal flawed relationship between farms, fertilisers and food
Rolling protests on Irish roads fluid and evolving
Sean O’Neill of Transport Infrastructure Ireland Sean O’Neill has urged motorway protestors to keep hard shoulders clear for emergency vehicles and highlighted how the rolling protests across the Irish road network are fluid and evolcing.
Speaking on RTE Radio before 9am he said that “on the M1 southbound, there is congestion between junction 12 and junction 9, so that’s earlier at Drogheda and that’s a go slow, there are people protesting there.
“And then on the M3 we have a full closure now, which wasn’t fully closed earlier today and that is between Kells junction 11 southbound and junction N9 in Navan is fully closed in both directions.He said there was “a go-slow movement” on the M7 leading onto the Long Mile Road this morning but it was cleared although not before it caused “significant congestion”.
He added that there was also a go slow on the N28 Cork to Ringaskiddy, “Anyone listening and people out on the network, we do ask that they keep the hard shoulder open. It’s for emergency vehicles and emergency trips. Whatever your actions are on the motorway network, please keep those open, because it’s just unacceptable. People need those it’s for emergency needs.”
He said people planning to use the roads could get live updates on traffic.tii.ie.
‘Nobody knows what the plan is’ - protestor
A spokesman for the Dublin fuel protest has said that they “achieved something small” in €505m worth of government measures, but said he has “no control” over further protests.
Blockades at fuel depots and Ireland’s only oil refinery have been lifted, but traffic disruption continued in parts of the country due to some protests.
“Nobody knows what the plan is, that’s being straight out there,” said John Dallon, a Kildare farmer and agriculture contractor who was at the Dublin protest.
He said that he welcomed the reduction in green diesel, but the government “should have done something” on kerosene.
“This protest is out of my hands, it escalated to somewhat so big, and I don’t know where it’s going to end, but it’s the government’s fault,” he told Newstalk radio on Monday.
“We achieved something small, but this is something way bigger now, and I have no control over it, and that’s exactly where I’m coming from.
“It’s gone to the stage that it seems like, looking out there, that the people of the island of Ireland have no confidence in this government anymore.”
Independent Ireland backed blocking of critical infrastructure - Collins
Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins said that his party did support blockades of critical infrastructure, but did not call for them.
It comes after Taoiseach Micheal Martin accused opposition parties of supporting the blockades which had cut off access to the country’s only oil refinery as well as a number of ports.
The blockades, which were cleared over the weekend in a number of garda operations, had threatened to limit the capacity of emergency services, cancel home care visits and affect the supply of groceries as some ports warned that they could need to turn deliveries away.
“First and foremost, Independent Ireland did not call for any blockades, but we certainly did support them,” Collins told RTE’s Morning Ireland on Monday.
“As far as we’re concerned, if people are protesting peacefully, in a peaceful manner, I will always support it, for their very own welfare and the welfare of others. These are good, decent, honest, hardworking people - self-employed people who are going out of business and cannot continue the way things are.”
Processes connected to protests can be ‘improved’ McEntee says
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has suggested that processes at a senior Government level can be “improved,” after the Minister for Justice last week made a surprise announcement that the army were being called in to clear blockades, writes Ellen Coyne.
Early last Thursday morning, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan announced that a formal request had been made to the Defence Forces to assist with policing the blockades which had cut off access to ports as well as the country’s only oil refinery.
The request to bring in the Army attracted some criticism, with some Opposition politicians claiming it had further aggravated protesters. Ultimately, while the Defence Forces offered some support they largely remained on “standby” with the majority of blockades and protests eventually being cleared by An Garda Siochana.
When asked if she had been consulted before the Minister for Justice announced he would be bringing in the army, McEntee twice declined to say and said she wasn’t going to “get into what is an internal government process.”
“I think with any kind of situation like this, what’s clear is that we need to always make sure we’re doing things in a most seamless way. I will say that I think things at a senior level can be improved, and I think that for any type of situation like this, we need to re-assess and we need to look at how processes were put in place,” McEntee told RTE Radio 1’s Morning Ireland on Monday.
“I’m not going to get into the details of our government process, but what I’ll say is I think, for any type of scenario, we need to review afterwards and make sure that we have seamless engagement and that we have a seamless process at every step and at every level.”
Asked if she had any reservations about the request to call in the Defence Forces, McEntee said she was not going to question the request from the gardai.
The minister was speaking following the announcement at the weekend of a new half a billion euro package to help with the cost of fuel, which includes a delay in a planned increase of the carbon tax next month to October. McEntee said that the Government would still spend money on retrofitting which had been planned to be funded by the revenue raised from the carbon tax increase, but that more exact levels of funding for such projects would be decided in Budget 2027.
Drivers intimidated and threatened,Fuels for Ireland says
The chief executive of Fuels For Ireland Kevin McPartlan has said fuel trucks are moving around the country following the lifting of blockades over the weekend but he warned that it could take 10 days before supplies return to normal levels and he called for secure access to supplies for his members following days of what he said ere “iintimidation and threats and insults to drivers”.
He said drivers had been identified and intimidated by protesters and family members had been contacted “when they’re sitting waiting to load. It’s really poor. I’m not suggesting that everybody involved in protests is involved in that stuff but there are [some] still doing that.”
He told Morning Ireland that the next key thing “is to make sure that the road network across the country is unhindered so we can actually get fuel to the people who need it.”
He said that in the long term “what has happened over the last few days has kind of created a precedent that people could see these as targets for the future so I think they’re going to need to be conversations around the security of those sites and the way the State manages that that security.”
Blockade on main motorway linking Waterford and Dublin cleared as M3 remains blocked
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has issued a notice that full road closures remain in place on a number of major Irish roads as fuel protests continue across the country, reports Hugh Dooley.
On the M3/N3, a blockade has closed the southbound lanes between junction 11 at Kells, and junction 9 at Navan.
On the M9, the main road from Waterford to Dublin, TII say the disruption between Athy, junction 3, and Kilcullen, junction 2 has been cleared. It notes, however, that “heavy congestion” remains in the area.
Rossalare busy but cargos moving
Rosslare Port is open and busy but an Irish Rail spokeswoman has expressed confidence that the backlog will be cleared by the middle of the week. “Today is expected to be an extremely busy day but [we]anticipate tomorrow we’ll be back to full normal operations. We’re just happy that the blockade has been lifted now and that our customers can get back to doing their business.”
It is worth noting that the rolling protests that are taking place around the country have made it a fast-moving situation so things could change as the day progresses. Transport Infrastructure Ireland will have live updates.
Traffic disruption ongoing around capital
There is a full road closure in place on the M3/N3 between J11 - Kells and J09 Navan (N) southbound.
“Significant delays are likely to occur. Please use a different route for your journey,” Transport Infrastructure Ireland said.
There has also been congestion on the M50 Southbound: J10 - J13 and delays on routes around Dublin including N3 S, M4/N4 E, N7 E, M11/N11 N.
Bus Éireann has also warned of disruptions to its service with the partial blockade on the M3 motorway resulting in delays and diversions for Route 109X.
Here are some of the other cancellations and delays being reported by the bus company.
Route 101
09:00 Dublin to Drogheda - Cancelled
09:40 Dublin to Drogheda - Cancelled
Route 105
09:45 Navan Rd Stn to Drogheda - Cancelled
Route 109
08:15 Dublin to Dunshaughlin - Cancelled
10:25 Dunshaughlin to Dublin - Cancelled
Route 160
Delayed departures may be expected
Route 167
Delayed departures may be expected
Route 168
07:59 Annagassan to Dundalk - Cancelled
Route 354
09:30 The Clock Tower to Dunmore East - Cancelled
10:20 Dunmore East to The Clock Tower - Cancelled
Route NX
08:00 Navan to Dublin - Cancelled
08:40 Navan to Dublin - Cancelled
Route B1
Some scheduled trips cancelled, please check the TFI Live App
SF accuses Government of demeaning and insulting Irish people
Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty has accused the Government of forcing people “to take to the streets” and he said it “made matters worse when they went from insulting people to demeaning them to threatening them with the army [and refusing] to talk to people and try and resolve this”.
He said that approach had seen “more and more people, ordinary people, fathers and mothers coming out and saying that they’ve had enough”.
He told Morning Ireland that “for many people, yes, it was about fuel, yes it was about petrol, diesel and home heating oil, but it was also about all of the other pressures that people are feeling whether it’s energy costs, whether it’s in groceries, whether it’s rents that continue to go up.”
He said it was “basically a tipping point that the Government aren’t listening, that we needed something to happen in terms of a cost of living package and this was the Government’s second attempt at [it] this year and again they come up short and that’s why so many people are annoyed this morning.”
Doherty said the party’s motion of no confidence in the Government was to take “the voice of the Irish people into the Dáil this week. I will make it very clear that who I believe is unfit for Government is the Taoiseach, the Minister for Justice who threatened the Irish Army against Irish protesters and a Government who actually inflamed tensions during the week when what we needed was a Government to recognise the cost of living pressures that people are under, to listen to what Sinn Féin and others have been putting forward for nearly a month now in relation to what we needed to do to get fuel affordable for people to get on with their everyday lives.”
Routes in Kildare and Wicklow still impacted by protest
There are a number of routes affected by protests this morning in Kildare and west Wicklow.
The M9 is blocked off northbound at Junction 3 Athy and traffic is being diverted off to the old N9 up to Kilcullen in Kildare.
There are long queues heading into Kilcullen as a result.
The N81 in Wicklow is operating with a go-slow protest heading north from Hollywood in the Blessington direction with a large amount of tractors involved.
‘At least five days’ before fuel supplies return to normal
The chief executive of the convenience stores and news agents’ umbrella group – who also representants many of Ireland’s service stations – has said that it will be at least five days before all supplies are back to normal – assuming there are no more protests in the meantime.
“One of the big difficulties is that the oil companies themselves only have so many drivers and only have so many tankers and when you’ve created this this this difficulty, this vacuum in deliveries that has to be filled and it’s going to be filled by split loads,” Vincent Jennings told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
Split loads will see some service stations not getting the full loads they need but a half or even a one-third load just to keep them covered until the supply chains are fully restored.
“We would expect that most service stations would be receiving a delivery within the next two days ... We are in unchartered waters but you couldn’t imagine [supply issues] going beyond five or six days assuming that everything is back to normal as in that there are no further disruptions. That is a big assumption perhaps.”
He said that the crisis had had a huge emotional and financial impact on retailers.
“I think everybody’s being cared for apart from the businesses ... From the start of this whole problem and the allegations of gouging which thankfully the CCPC has said wasn’t the case. And then the threats. It’s not in our nature to actually say no to customers so when you don’t have a product that’s the real difficulty.
“It is the difficulty as well for the customer who has perhaps queued up and then they’re told there is no more and they don’t stay around, they move on to somewhere else and so any additional purchases that you would have been hoping [for] that doesn’t happen either so it has been difficult and there has been obviously a loss of sales.”
Motorway blockages on M1 and M3 ongoing
While most of the blockades have been lifted there are still protests ongoing on the M1 between junction 13 Dunleer and junction 11 Monasterboice. There is also a full closure of the M3 at junction 9 Navan in both directions and significant delays are likely on these routes.
Warning that ‘insulting’ measures won’t keep people off streets
One of the leading fuel price protesters has said groups will continue targeting “major infrastructure” after an “insulting” €505 million package of measures was announced by the Government, reports Ellen O’Riordan.
James Geoghegan, a Co Westmeath farmer, said O’Connell Street in Dublin may not be on the agenda again as blockading there “doesn’t really do much major harm”.
He said protesters will likely pick areas that have a bigger impact, such as “major infrastructure” because “this Government is not listening”.
A 2.4 cent reduction to a litre of green diesel was “nothing”, while 10 cent off a litre of petrol and regular diesel was “not enough”, he said.
John Dallon, another high-profile figure in the movement, said he did not think the Government’s measures would keep people off the streets.
The Co Kildare farmer, who was among a small group of protesters refused entry to a meeting with Ministers last Friday, said taking 2.4 cents a litre off green diesel was “an insult”.
“They were telling us they were going to come out with a ‘substantial’ package. That is not a substantial package,” he said.
“The public won’t accept that, I think. It will only set more fuel on the fire”.
Government to examine ‘latitude’ given to protesters
Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Sunday night denied the Government’s budget plans had gone out the window following the fuel measures although he did say there would be an impact on Budget 2027.
He also said there would be an examination of the “latitude” given to protests and blockades in the early part of last week.
And he added that the “full rigours of the law” would be applied in future in the event of similar protests that “try to deny the free movement of goods and services”.
Fuel industry representatives have said supplies of diesel and petrol are flowing again but availability at service stations left without fuel since late last week will take about 10 days to return to normal.
But there is better news for at least some commuters in Dublin city this morning
The Luas will be operating as normal
And so too will all Dubin Bus services
Many blockades lifted from national routes
Many of the fixed blockades along the motorway network, appear to have be lifted.
However, on Sunday evening slow-moving convoys were causing traffic disruption.
The most recent update from Transport Infrastructure Ireland on Sunday night said there were road closures in place on the M1, M8 and M11.
Public transport and fuel supplies restart as relief measures rolled out
While the fuel protests that blocked key infrastructure around the country have now ended and public transport in the capital is returning to normal following an almost week-long blockade of Dublin’s O’Connell St, there will be some aftershocks as a new week dawns, not least a motion of no confidence in the Government which is likely on Tuesday.
Blockades at fuel depots in Cork, Limerick and Cork were stopped over the weekend, and O’Connell St will fully reopen this morning but rolling protests could slow traffic on a number of roads around the country over the day.
Just to catch you up, it was a busy Sunday on the political front, culminating in the announcement yesterday evening that the Government is to pay another half a billion euro in fuel supports after a week of protests and blockades led to severe diesel and petrol shortages.
The €505 million package, announced after a Cabinet meeting was larger than expected and involves an extension of and increase to excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel.
There will also be a delay to a planned rise in the carbon tax and multimillion euro schemes to support hauliers and agribusinesses.
Excise reductions announced last month are to be extended to July 31st, while there will be a further 10 cent reduction in the rate charged on a litre of petrol and diesel.
That takes the total cut in excise on petrol since the start of the crisis to 25 cent while the cut on diesel is slightly larger at 30 cent.
Increases to the carbon tax due to come into force next month, have been postponed until budget day, while there will be a reduction of 2.4 cent on the price of a litre of green diesel.
Key details of the support package
- Extend temporary excise cuts and reductions in oil levies, approved last night, from their original intended stop date of 31st May until the end of July
- There will be a further 10-cent reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel and a further 2.4-cent reduction on marked gas oil or green diesel – effective from midnight on Tuesday and needing Oireachtas approval
- Carbon tax increases scheduled to take effect from May 1st until Budget day in October
- A new support scheme for truckers – open to licensed hauliers and certain other operators, including local link and school transport services, running until 1st March. Payments to smaller firms will be proportionately greater
- Payments under the trucker scheme, to be called the Road Transporters Support Scheme, will be made for April and May if the price of diesel exceeds €1.90 per litre in the month. The combined cost of the haulage scheme is €40 million
