*The Banner Plaza is the meeting point for Tuesday’s protest. Photograph: Ruth Griffin
CLARE MOTORISTS will encounter traffic delays on Tuesday morning with a nationwide protest over the fuel crisis to see convoys take to roads including the M18.
Rising costs of oil, diesel, petrol, kerosene and fertiliser has left the people of Clare and Ireland feeling the pinch and on Tuesday a nationwide protest will be visible on roads all over the country.
From 7am, a convoy of vehicles will gather at Banner Plaza at junction 12 of the M18. Dublin is the end point of the nationwide protest with the Clare contingent to travel via both Galway and Limerick from the M18 to join further meeting points at Portumna Bridge and Bunratty.
HGVs, agricultural and plant vehicles will gather at different locations and slow moving convoys will travel along the M18 and other national primary routes. Some of these convoys will remain in regional locations, and some will travel to Dublin to congregate in the Dublin region.
Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East six weeks ago, fuel prices have shot up in Ireland. A fortnight ago, the Government cut excise duty on fuel but their ‘wait and see approach’ has been criticised.
Farmers in the Beef Plan Movement have rowed in to support the protest. “In a message to members, organisers said, “We can’t deny it, it’s a crisis that is having a major effect on all of us. Green diesel has rose 70 cent per litre since the war started. The vat on the rise in price of green since the war started is 9 and half cent per litre, instead of helping farmers the Government has pocketed six and a half cent of this extra tax take and thrown us farmers three cent. The recent government attitude of treating farmers very poorly has continued with their handling of this crisis”.
While urging its members to support the protest, Beef Plan leaders told them, “You now have to decide if you are prepared to stand up to them or to just continue to take it till they get rid of you. This protest is an opportunity to stand up. There is something happening near you find out and make the decision if you want to turn up . You can bring a tractor, a truck, a car any vehicle you can get your hands on or you can come on foot”.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, An Garda Síochána said they aware of “proposals for vehicle gatherings and associated public activity” across the country. The statement added, “If the convoys materialise and congregate, it is expected that there will be significant additional traffic, including slow-moving vehicles, on the main arteries leading to Dublin and in the vicinity of large urban areas across the country from 08:00”.
There has been “limited interaction” between organisers and Gardaí.
Members of the public have been advised to leave additional time for journeys on Tuesday morning and to expect traffic delays.
