Defence Forces arrive at Whitegate oil refinery in Cork as gardaí pepper spray protesters

LAST UPDATE | 13 mins ago

PEPPER SPRAY HAS been used on protestors at the oil refinery in Whitegate, Co Cork as  gardaí try to clear the road to allow for a military vehicle to tow vehicles blockading access to the refinery.

The Defence Forces’ heavy-lift vehicle is at the site with a number of soldiers from the Transport Corps.

Four busloads of gardaí arrived at Whitegate shortly before 11:30am, where protestors are on day four of a blockade preventing supplies from leaving the facility.

Protestors formed a line on the road blocking gardaí.

A garda inspector, addressing those gathered with a megaphone, said gardaí respects the rights of those to protest peacefully.

However, he said the continued presence at Whitegate “goes beyond a peaceful protest and has in fact become a blockade of the public road and property”.

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Protesters are “creating a risk to state security”, he said. The inspector told protestors to cease and desist the blockade.

The garda public order unit is also present at the scene.

The garda presence today follows a standoff between gardaí and protesters outside the facility yesterday. Gardaí took up positions across the roads between two junctions at either end of the entrance to the Whitegate Refinery.

Public order unit gardaí were at the site yesterday but kept their distance from protestors as garda negotiators spoke to those involved in the blockade.

The refinery is the only one in Ireland and its blockade has led to shortages of fuel at hundreds of forecourts across the country today.

A large number of protesters remain in place on day four of the blockade.

Fuel shortages 

CEO of Fuels for Ireland Kevin McPartlan warned today that if the blockades at fuel terminals in Cork, Limerick, and Galway are not lifted by Monday, “we will not be in a position to guarantee fuel availability at forecourts nationwide by early next week”.

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He said only around 25% of normal daily deliveries are being completed due to the ongoing protests.

“Fuel will continue to reach some locations, but it will be a matter of prioritising wherever deliveries can be made, meaning we cannot guarantee where or when fuel will be available.

“And if the system is allowed to deteriorate to that point, it could take up to a month to restore normal service across the country.”

He said the disruption is not prolonging the current problem but “compounding it”, and even if access to fuel terminals is restored immediately, normal supply conditions will not return overnight. 

Ireland also risks losing access to inbound fuel supply if terminals cannot operate normally and cargo cannot be discharged or processed through the system as intended, he added.

“What began as an access issue is steadily becoming a supply issue, and Ireland cannot afford for that risk to deepen in the middle of a wider oil crisis.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated

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