Dublin fuel protesters ‘ambushed’ in late-night Garda operation, spokesman says

Fuel protesters in Dublin city centre were “ambushed” by an “army” of public order police, according to a spokesman for the blockaders.

The blockade of the capital’s main thoroughfare O’Connell Street was cleared in a late-night police operation, ahead of an emergency Cabinet meeting on Sunday to sign off on measures the Irish Government hopes will bring all protests over fuel costs to an end.

The protests – which also saw blockades of Ireland’s only oil refinery and key depots – strangled fuel distribution across the country and prompted an escalated policing response that resulted in several arrests and public order units deployed in Cork, Galway and Dublin.

Participants – largely led by hauliers, farmers, and agricultural workers – began separate but co-ordinated action on Tuesday with slow-moving convoys and outright stoppages on major motorways, as well as blockades of critical infrastructure.

Some protests rolled into a sixth day on Sunday, with spokesmen calling on the Government to take urgent action to reduce fuel costs which they say are at unsustainable levels and will lead to people going out of business.

Around 20 large vehicles and tractors remained on O’Connell Street and the nearby quays in Dublin at 8am on Sunday, with dozens of protest participants and supporters.

Steel barriers have been erected on surrounding roads to prevent further access, with the Irish police service An Garda Siochana monitoring the cordon while street cleaners cleared debris.

Speaking about the overnight Garda operation on O’Connell Street, protest spokesman Christopher Duffy said he was “upset”, “disappointed” and “angry”.

He added: “Nobody in the city of Dublin or the country could say our assembly was anything but peaceful.”

Mr Duffy said he believes protesters were denied due process, adding: “We got absolutely ambushed here last night by what I can only describe as an army of (public order gardai).

“At this point, we’re pulling out of O’Connell Street because we have been threatened with – I don’t know the law, section 8 on the vehicles – if we don’t get out by a certain time they’re threatening to tow the vehicles on us.

“These vehicles are very expensive with automatic transmissions and everything, and if they drag them with the engine not on they could wreck them.

“So we have no choice, financially we have to move the vehicles.”

He called for rural TDs and independents “propping up the Government” to call a motion of no confidence in the coalition.

Asked if the overall protests are now over, he said: “I don’t think so.”

The coalition Government is expected to sign off on fuel-cost measures on Sunday evening, but it remains to be seen if it will convince protesters to call off their actions before the return of schools on Monday adds to pressure on the roads.

Gardai cleared a blockade of the Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork around lunchtime on Saturday and vowed to implement further enhanced enforcement actions.

It saw physical clashes between protesters and gardai, who used pepper spray during the hour-long operation which resecured access for fuel trucks.

Gardai were later called to a similar action at Galway harbour, where hundreds of protesters gathered in pouring rain while restricting access to a fuel depot by blocking the way with tractors.

Members of the Public Order Unit, wearing protective gear and batons, were at the scene for hours overnight.

The protest and Garda response continued on Sunday morning.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly had vowed to step up enforcement against fuel-cost protesters “endangering the state” by blocking critical infrastructure.

Protesters’ demands for meetings with Government were not acceded to but relevant ministers held talks with established national representative bodies on Friday and Saturday.

These meetings concluded with a “substantial” package involving a temporary fuel transport support scheme” and “temporary fuel support”.

It is understood the transport support scheme will see direct payments to businesses in the sectors affected by high fuel costs.

A senior source said the scheme will be part of a broader package on the fuel crisis.

The engagements included Irish Road Haulage Association president Ger Hyland, who said there were “the bones of an agreement” with the Government.

He added he hoped the “substantial package”, understood to include a direct payment scheme, would be agreed by Sunday morning.

The Cabinet is due to meet at 4pm on Sunday to sign off on the measures.

The pledge of a “substantial” package was not enough to dissuade protesters away from their blockades without Garda intervention on Saturday.

Commissioner Kelly said the blockades of critical infrastructure “resulted in fuel shortages that are directly impacting on emergency services such as hospitals, the ambulance service and the fire service, as well as businesses and the general public”.

He said: “These are blockades. They are not a legitimate form of protest.”

He added: “We gave the blockaders fair warning that we were moving to enforcement and they choose to ignore it and continue to hold the country to ransom.”

A small number of Defence Forces personnel with heavy-lift recovery trucks have been on standby to assist gardai with moving large vehicles if needed.

The escalated enforcement action came as Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan warned it would “still take 10 days to recover” to normal.

Mr McPartlan, who had estimated that up to two-thirds of the country’s 1,500 filling stations could have ran dry by Sunday morning, said the situation is “rapidly changing” due to the garda interventions – but said hundreds of forecourts would still be without fuel.

While fuel truck access to Whitegate oil refinery was ramping up significantly, ongoing disruption on major roads was affecting distribution.

Blockades have resulted in full closures of parts of major motorways, although Gardai announced blockades on the M50 at junctions five and seven had been cleared on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, police in Northern Ireland said they are “maintaining an ongoing assessment” in relation to social media posts calling for similar planned protests there.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: “A policing response has been prepared, if needed, to ensure public safety and to help minimise any potential disruption to the wider community.”