GOVERNMENT LEADERS HAVE come out strongly this morning against the ongoing fuel protests, with the Taoiseach saying they are “not legitimate”. 

Speaking at a press conference outside Government Buildings this morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said it is “not acceptable” to “turn O’Connell Street into a car park”.

“The protests at the moment are wrong. To prevent mobility, to prevent people from accessing livelihoods, medical appointments, disrupting day-to-day activities in the manner that has happened is wrong, and is a wrong form of protest.

“And in my view, is not conducive to cohesion within our society or to resolving issues in a satisfactory manner,” he said.

He added that blocking roads “is not a legitimate form of protest”.

“We respect people’s right to protest, and so there’s always a balance, initially, in terms of how that is policed, but what is not acceptable is people declaring that we will turn O’Connell Street into a car park.

“That’s not acceptable. There are people with businesses on O’Connell Street who need to survive,” he said.

His comments come as fuel protests continue across the country for a second day, causing significant travel disruption.

Government leaders are meeting this morning to discuss the price of fuel.

Also speaking on his way into that meeting, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the protests are “not in the interest of social cohesion”.

Speaking alongside the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, the Regional Independents’ de facto leader Seán Canney asked what the purpose of the protests is and said: “It’s a ransom.” 

“I think people need to understand that what’s happening here is not in the national interest. It’s not in the people’s interest,” Canney said.

Earlier today, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers urged fuel protesters to “stand down” from blocking fuel terminals in parts of the country, dubbing the action “reckless”.

“They’re undermining business in our city and across the country. Blocking fuel terminal terminals is reckless in the extreme, and they should stand down their protest,” he said.

“This is a very serious issue, and it’s unacceptable in the context of a global conflict and a global war, and also, two weeks ago, the government made a significant intervention of €250 million.

“So it’s totally unacceptable. It’s irresponsible, and what’s happening at fuel terminals is reckless, and they should stand it down to meet those groups.”

Fuel terminals in Foynes and Galway have been obstructed this morning by protesters.

Reacting to this, Fuels for Ireland chief executive officer Kevin McPartlan told The Journal that some of the tactics employed by protesters have been “ill-judged”.

“This not only prevents delivery of fuel to forecourts, but more importantly, by blocking emergency services access, threatens the health and safety of staff in those premises,” said McPartlan.

McPartlan said however that he has “great empathy for those who feel Government can, and must, intervene to mitigate the impact of high prices across global fuel markets”.

The Taoiseach said today that the government has and will continue to engage with representative groups impacted by the price of fuel, including the Irish Road Hauliers Association, and farming and agricultural representatives.

“We live in a parliamentary democracy…the government deals and works with and engages in normal circumstances with the national organisations. And that will continue to be the case, and there will be no deviation from that,” he said.

Government leaders met with the Irish Road Haulage Association today for what they described as wide-ranging discussions about the pressures facing the haulage industry. 

“The discussions were constructive and form part of a series of meetings between the industry and government,” the government said in a statement.

“Government welcomes news of the ceasefire overnight. We urge sustained dialogue to ensure a permanent end to the war. We note that since the announcement, the price of oil on international markets has reduced.”

The government said that Minister Martin Heydon and Minister of State Timmy Dooley will meet national representative bodies of contractors and farming organisations on Friday.

With reporting from Kate Henshaw