Government officials expressed relief over the security operation in Whitegate, following Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan’s decision to enlist army aid for Ireland’s national police force, the Garda Síochána.
“The closure of the Whitegate oil refinery threatens national security, potentially halting the country,” stated Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s junior minister for European affairs and defense.
Fuels for Ireland, representing distributors and filling stations, reported that around 600 of the 1,500 gas stations across the nation already faced supply shortages.
Protesters are obstructing major roads in central Dublin and key motorway intersections nationwide, demanding immediate tax reductions. The main protest site is O’Connell Street in Dublin, where numerous tractors, trucks, and vans have disrupted public transport since Tuesday.
Ireland’s center-right government, which recently reduced petrol and diesel taxes due to oil price surges from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, refuses direct talks with the protesters lacking support from the Irish Road Haulage Association and the Irish Farmers’ Association.
Protesters also block fuel tankers from accessing Galway and Foynes, two primary oil import ports. A Dutch tanker with 6 million liters of fuel remains idle in Galway Bay since Thursday due to full fuel tanks at the port.
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