Dublin Bus resumes full schedule but some fuel protests expected across the country today

LAST UPDATE | 33 mins ago

ROADS ARE EXPECTED to be largely clear from protests this morning as schools return after the Easter break.

It follows six days of protests on Irish roads and blockades of fuel terminals and the country’s only oil refinery at Whitegate in Co Cork.

Protests and blockades were largely cleared by yesterday afternoon, although protests on motorways across Ireland persisted into the late evening.

The government announced its €505m fuel support package yesterday evening.

It followed the conclusion of an emergency Cabinet meeting that sought to sign off on measures to appease protesters and put an end to the nearly week-long disruption.

Today, a national strike has been touted online but it remains unclear this morning whether this will materialise into any concrete action by protesters. 

Over the weekend, extensive efforts were made by gardaí to disperse protesters and their vehicles at fuel terminals at Foynes in Co Limerick and Galway harbour, which had been blockaded since early last week.

The blockades caused fuel to run dry in some 900 forecourts across the country at the peak yesterday morning, but access has since been regained to these key fuel terminals and it is expected supply will return to normal levels nationally within the next five to ten days.

Derogations on driving hours for drivers transporting fuel and home heating oil was signed off by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien on Saturday to attempt to ramp up supply of fuel after blockades obstructed the usual deliveries.

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Transport

While gardaí cleared fuel protesters from a number of roads across the country over the weekend, including Dublin’s M50 motorway, a number of protests and road closures remain in place this morning.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland has said that two blockades remain in place on Ireland’s motorways.

These include the M3/N3 between Junction 11 Kells to Junction 9 Navan in both directions.

The M9 between Junction 3 Athy and Junction 2 Kilcullen direction northbound is also closed.

The M1 southbound between junction 12 and junction nine, from Dun Laoighre to Drogheda, is also affected due to a go slow protest.

There are reports of congestion leading to delays on the M50 Southbound from J10 – J13, with further delays on routes around Dublin according to Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

Dublin Bus has said that full services resumed at 4am this morning after a week of disruptions.

A spokesperson for the company advised this morning that passengers check its website and social media channels.

“We would like to thank all customers for their patience and understanding during this period of disruption,” the spokesperson said.

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton

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