Fuel-price protests cause chaos in Ireland and spread to Norway

Original article by Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent and Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent

Protests over fuel prices have caused chaos in Ireland and spread to Norway in a knock-on effect from the conflict in the Middle East.

People in Ireland were urged to only buy fuel they needed as 100 fuel stations ran out, and the National Emergency Coordination Group warned the number could rise to 500 on Friday.

Hauliers, farmers and other groups blocked motorways and brought parts of Dublin to a standstill on Friday in a fourth consecutive day of action in a knock-on effect from the conflict.

In Ireland the protests have led to fuel shortages and travel disruption, and in Norway lorry drivers taking part in the “diesel roar” protest descended on the capital. The Irish government put the army on standby to help remove blockades and police warned some protesters to disperse or face arrest, prompting defiance and threats to continue the disruption for weeks if necessary.

Protests were endangering critical supplies of food, fuel, clean water and animal feed, the police force, An Garda Síochána, said. “This is not tolerable and is against the law.” Government leaders have accused protesters of holding the country to “ransom”.

The blockade of ports and a refinery meant Ireland was on the verge of turning away oil deliveries and losing its supply, the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told RTÉ. “It is unconscionable, it’s illogical.”

Despite government mitigation measures, in recent weeks the price of diesel has risen from about €1.70 a litre to €2.17 and petrol has jumped from about €1.74 to €1.97.

A meeting between ministers and representative bodies from the haulage and farming industries on Friday ended without a resolution, and the talks – which went ahead without the participation of protesters – will continue on Saturday.

Ireland’s deputy premier, Simon Harris, said there would be a “substantial and significant” package of support for “key sectors of the economy”.

Harris said talks between government and representative bodies in the farming and haulage sectors were “going well”, adding that further “intensive engagement” into the weekend was likely.

Speaking to RTÉ News, he said: “The blockade has to end.”

But Christopher Duffy, a spokesperson for the protest in Dublin, said the action would continue until there was detail on a “serious reduction in our costs”.

The justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, said “outside actors”, such as the British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, were manipulating the protests for their own agenda.

In Denmark’s recent election the far-right Danish People’s party tried to tap into discontent by paying voters for their petrol.

The rise in oil prices since the US and Israel began attacking Iran on 28 February has convulsed global markets and triggered outcries from consumers and businesses who want governments to do more to soften the blow.

Some countries announced temporary cuts in fuel taxes while others took measures to restrict demand and considered rationing. The Philippines declared a state of “national energy emergency”. Authorities in France tried to avert widespread shortages by announcing on Friday that fuel tankers would be allowed to circulate on weekends and public holidays until 11 May.

In Norway protesters on Friday drove a convoy of lorries to the parliament in Oslo. About 70 to 80 trucks, some with banners that read “nok er nok!” (enough is enough!), joined another group known as Dieselbrølet (diesel roar). Only a handful were allowed to drive into the capital.

Norway cut fuel taxes on 1 April but hauliers say they need more predictable and lower prices. Despite being an oil producer, fuel prices in Norway have surged since the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz. The Statistics Norway institute said the price of fuel and lubricants rose by 17.9% from February to March, with diesel prices in that period jumping by 23.6%.

A Statistics Norway spokesperson said it had never recorded a sharper month-on-month increase in fuel prices using the CPI inflation index. “The last time we saw something similar was in the spring of 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but in that case the price increase occurred over two consecutive months.”

Last month the Irish government announced a €250m package of measures to reduce fuel costs, including a temporary excise duty reduction, expansion of a diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators and an extension of the fuel allowance.

Blockades of Ireland’s sole oil refinery at Whitegate, County Cork, and fuel depots in Galway City and Foynes in County Limerick crippled deliveries. Dozens of forecourts ran dry and there were warnings as motorists rushed to fill up on petrol and diesel.

Columns of tractors and other vehicles closed motorways and Dublin’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street. The Irish Medical Organisation said slower emergency services response times and missed healthcare appointments would harm patient welfare. The courier company DPD suspended deliveries.

Protesters were prepared to remain in the capital for weeks, a spokesperson, John Dallon, told RTÉ. “If it takes a month, we are prepared to sit here,” he said.

He accused the government of ignoring the plight of people facing hardship and ruin because of fuel costs. “How dare they come out and say that these people that are protesting are holding the country to ransom? It’s the government that’s holding this country to ransom, not the protesters.”

The taoiseach postponed a trade mission to Canada to deal with the crisis.