*A road block along the M18 at junction 11. Photograph: Joe Buckley
CLARE PROTESTERS are planning to lock down main arteries of the county on Thursday.
A third day of protesting will resume in Co Clare on Thursday morning but service stations are beginning to warn that their fuel supply is running low and deliveries have been delayed due to the ongoing blockages of roads nationwide. The protest in Clare will resume from 7am at The Banner Plaza on Thursday morning.
Organisers of the protest on Wednesday night issued the message to drivers to prepare to lock down the M18 in Co Clare for Thursday’s protest. “We need to lock it down full stop because we’re getting no place and the Government is only laughing at us, we need to put pressure on now, tomorrow has to be lock down again and more,” chief organiser Cathal O’Donoghue advised members of the fuel crisis protest group.
He said, “We need more and more people now with what is happening in the Dáil, they are not backing down or telling us anything, everything is getting worse, everyone is locking down and staying in their vans, trucks, jeeps and tractors tonight everywhere in Portlaoise, Limerick everywhere, it is crazy. Tomorrow we have to hit this harder than today, we need more tractors, dumpers, lorries, cars, jeeps, vans, buses, everything, we need everything out on the road tomorrow, dump trucks, anything that starts and drives bring it tomorrow”.
Convoys have taken to primary routes across Clare along the M18, N85 and R458 since Tuesday morning with hundreds of trucks, tractors and vehicles driving in loops and mounting road blocks. Their actions have been motivated by the frustration felt with the rising cost of fuel since the outbreak of war in the Middle East six weeks ago.
Thousands of Clare people have been discommoded as a result of the protests with reports of missed appointments for cancer patients and dialysis patients also missing out on scheduled treatment on Tuesday and Wednesday. Parents of children with disabilities have also flagged their difficult experiences of being stuck in traffic for hours and the impact on their panicked passengers.
Service stations have warned that the blocking of fuel depots will leave them without any supply of fuel. A spokesperson for Corofin based Lakefield Service Station on Wednesday afternoon cautioned, “due to the ongoing fuel protests the ports are currently blocked. We are awaiting our delivery of fuel, we have already sold out of petrol and marked gas oil. We apologise for the inconvenience but this is out of our control”.
Circle K in Shannon at what was formerly O’Connor’s Texaco have ran out of fuel as of Wednesday night. There are reports of service stations in Ennis on the Quin Rd and Gort Rd also running out of fuel with supply also low at Talty’s in Lisscyasey and Circle K in Ennistymon.
On Tuesday, the convoy went in loops along the M18, leaving junction 12 at The Banner Plaza and heading for junction 11 for Quin, Dromoland with some operating in a loop and heading back for Ennis and others continuing towards Newmarket-on-Fergus and Shannon along the M18.
Another convoy operated a loop along the N85 towards Clareabbey Roundabout onto the Lahinch Rd in Ennis and back to The Plaza.
Road blocks were mounted on Wednesday morning cutting off access along the M18 forcing motorists to exit at junction 11 and via Newmarket-on-Fergus where road works have been ongoing for the past month. The blockade also brought traffic to a halt at junction 14 in Barefield.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, An Garda Síochána said they will continue to engage with organsiers of the fuel protest “seeking to work with them to mitigate the negative impact these protests are having on the lives of their communities. While these protests have been peaceful, they are causing significant disruption for people in some parts of the country. We in An Garda Síochána have received reports of emergency workers being delayed or not being able to travel to their work, of people not being able to attend hospital appointments or visit loved ones who are ill. Key public transports routes are also delayed or not operating, which means that employees and businesses are heavily impacted. A small number of fuel depots are also being blocked”.
“Any Garda activity in relation to evolving events involves a graduated policing response taking into account relevant legislation and public safety,” the Garda spokesperson added.
Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan (FF) following a meeting with senior members of the Gardaí at the Garda Control Centre stated, “I emphasised to them that while Government respects the right to protest, that right must be exercised lawfully and must respect the rights of others to earn a livelihood or to move freely”.
Minister O’Callaghan warned protestors that nobody is above the law, “I also informed the Gardaí that it is essential our ports and fuel depots remain open and fully accessible. Government is well aware of the pressures on people from increased fuel costs, but democracy cannot be dictated to by an unelected group whose actions are now damaging the Irish public. No one is above the law and those breaking the law should know that there are consequences for unlawful activity”.
