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Police clear Irish fuel protesters from several locations

RTÉ Several police officers on horses enter a city street passing a Garda (police) van. It is dark - clearly nighttime - and two traffic lights to the right of the image are on red. RTÉ
Garda on horseback were among the officers who cleared O'Connell Street on Sunday morning

Fuel protesters have been removed from a number of sites in the Republic of Ireland by police.

Protesters were moved in an operation by gardaí (Irish police) from from O'Connell Street in Dublin, the M50 motorway near the city and from Galway port.

A protest is still blocking the N1 southbound near Dundalk - part of the main route between Dublin and Northern Ireland.

Demonstrators have been blocking fuel distribution sites and many major motorways and roads in a protest over soaring fuel costs following the US-Israel war with Iran.

PA Media A crowd, several of them waving Irish Tricolour flags stand in O'Connell Street in Dublin. Two lorries are visible in the midst of the crowd. The statue of Daniel O'Connell can be seen in the centre of the image - bronze on top of a large stone plinth. PA Media
Protesters listened to speeches on Dublin's O'Connell Street on Saturday

Shortly after 03:30 gardaí asked people inside tractors and trailers in O'Connell Street to leave the area, all of whom did so peacefully.

About 200 uniformed gardaí, the public order unit and mounted unit surrounded O'Connell Street, while its water unit patrolled the River Liffey below and a Garda helicopter flew overhead.

A number of trucks and tractors left the area before the operation began, while several others later returned to their vehicles and then drove away under Garda escort.

Gardaí cleared the blockade of the M50 motorway.

An operation to end a blockade of Galway docks began later in the morning.

Gardaí said it was "to ensure critical supplies of fuel to maintain critical emergency public services, including ambulance and fire services".

Demonstrators had formed a barricade on the bridge leading to the port terminal.

It was dismantled and protesters were directed to leave.

Most did so peacefully, although some were resistant.

Meanwhile protesters at a blockade of an oil terminal at Foynes, County Limerick, announced they would end the action at 13:00.

Demonstrators restricting access to Rosslare Europort in County Wexford have said that they will allow 60 to 70 trucks to leave the port "as a gesture of goodwill".

Hundreds of petrol stations in the Republic of Ireland have run out of fuel as the protests and blockades - involving slow-moving convoys made up of vehicles including tractors - are now in a sixth day.

RTE A number of Garda officers dressed in black riot polices-style uniforms move towards a barricade of pallets and wire fencing which has two men standing on top of a container behind it. A lorry with a loading arm can also be seen further back.RTE
Officers from the Garda's public order unit move in to clear away a barricade at Galway port on Sunday morning

A cabinet meeting will be held on Sunday where an update on ongoing fuel crisis talks will be given.

Meetings between government ministers and representatives of farmers and hauliers to finalise a new government funding package have been ongoing since Friday.

On Saturday, fuel trucks regained access to an oil refinery in County Cork that had been subjected to a days-long blockade.

Protesters who had been blocking trucks leaving the Whitegate Refinery were pushed back by gardaí using pepper spray, in an operation supported by the Irish Defence Forces.

The Garda commissioner said a number of arrests were made during the operation.

He added that blockades were illegal and "not a legitimate form of protest".

"We gave these blockaders fair warning that we were moving to an enforcement phase and they chose to ignore that and continue to hold the country to ransom," Justin Kelly said.

An Garda Síochána The picture shows three senior police officers in white shirts in front of 20-30 officers wearing blue shirts and high-viz jackets in a briefing room. They are listening to one of the senior officers talk, behind him is a map and there is also a map on an interactive whiteboard along the wall.An Garda Síochána
Gardaí were briefed ahead of the operation to clear O'Connell Street

He added that gardaí were aware there had been intimidation of fuel tanker drivers.

"Offences such as threats to kill or cause serious harm carry sentences of up to 10 years," he said.

"My message is clear - blockaders must immediately cease blockades of critical infrastructure and road networks or face the full rigours of the law."

Reuters A large red tractor from behind - a white placard with red paint sits between the back wheels. The paint reads "No fuel no food". The tractor sits in O'Connell Street in Dublin.Reuters
Tractors have been used to block routes across the country

The National Emergency Coordination Group, which brings together government departments and state agencies to coordinate emergency response, said fuel supplies for emergency response vehicles, including the ambulance service and fire service, are under "increasing pressure".

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said the blockades meant the country was "on the precipice of turning oil away from the country" during a global oil supply crisis.

Speaking in Dublin on Saturday, Mary Lou McDonald the leader of Sinn Féin - the largest opposition party in the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), said the Irish government had allowed a "difficult situation" to escalate and urged it to engage with protesters to negotiate an end to the blockades.

PA Media Bollards and tape block a Circle K's fuel pumpsPA Media
Hundreds of forecourts have run out of petrol and diesel due to the protests

Why are the protests taking place?

The conflict in the Middle East has caused rapid price rises for both petrol and diesel.

Some 20% of the world's oil trade, the raw ingredient for producing both petrol and diesel, has been halted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Diesel in the Republic of Ireland has risen from about €1.70 (£1.48) a litre to €2.17 (£1.89) on many forecourts in recent weeks and petrol is now up to 25 cents more per litre at many pumps.

The protests started on Tuesday morning.

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