Fuel protest: M8 closed due to protest, kilometre-long line built up on Tullamore bypass
Claudia Savage, Press Association
11am
The Tullamore bypass in Cffaly has around a kilometre-long line of protesters on the hard shoulder, made up of trucks, cars and vans.
The M8 is now fully closed in Cashel, Co Tipperary, due to protesters, while there are now traffic snarl-ups citybound on the M4 after Kilcock in Kildare.
Traffic on the M7 and M9 is starting to build as protesters merge to travel towards the M50. There is currently a queue back to The Curragh.
10am
Convoys have moved off from around the Midlands and the East of the country.
At Junction 8, Cashel North and South long lines of trucks, minibuses and cars groups gathered from before 8am to make their way to Dublin’s M50.
The Portlaoise fuel protest involving trucks, tractors and vans continues to travel from J17 in a slow-moving convoy back to the same junction.
On the N81 a protest convoy is currently traveling though Brittas.
In Athlone protesters are involved in a slow drive from Moate to the town with hauliers, farmers, bus companies, taxis and the general public.
As of yet, there are no delays on the M4, the primary route from Sligo to Dublin, which connects to the M50 at Junction 5 north-westwards.
Gardaí have warned of slow-moving traffic across the country as a protest against fuel prices got underway on Tuesday morning.
Posting on social media site X, An Garda Síochána said they were aware of convoys on the M7 and M4 in Co Kildare, on the M7 in Co Limerick, on the M8 in Co Offaly, on the M3 in Co Meath and on the M6 in Co Galway.
Posts on social media outlined that convoys of vehicles, including HGVs, agricultural and plant vehicles, would gather at various locations across the country.
The messages say the plan is for some of the convoys to remain in regional locations and some of them to converge in Dublin city centre.
Routes proposed online included the M1, N2, N3, N4, M7 and the N11.
It comes as fuel costs are expected to rise to €2.30 in the coming days due to the war in Iran.
'The People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices' group said thousands of trucks, buses and cars will eventually merge into one large convoy heading into O'Connell Street at around 11am, Newstalk reported.
Vehicles began departing from some areas as early as 6am, to eventually merge into one large convoy heading into Dublin.
Key merge points include Liffey Valley, The Red Cow, and the M50/Port Tunnel split.
Ger Hyland, the president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, has said he does not know who is organising Tuesday's fuel price protests.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage, Hyland declined to say if he supported the protests.
“We empathise with them, we can see where they're coming from. Our position on this is that we are still at the table with government. We had a meeting with government last Friday, we're meeting with them again this week.”
As an association, the IRHA was not involved with the protest, he said, but it was up to every member to make their own decision.
“We have members who are probably involved in this today.
“They're involved in it because they can't afford to fuel their trucks. It's up to every individual haulier himself to do as he sees fit for his company," Hyland said.
Later on the same programme, Kevin McPartland, chief executive of Fuels for Ireland, said that the crux of the issue was excise duty.
The Exchequer was “not as far behind as they're letting on. They've let everybody off 20 cents a litre, but actually they're collecting 16 of that back in VAT. So I have a lot of sympathy with the protesters today.
“We need an expert group to have a comprehensive review of all of the taxation and compliance cost of fuel.
“If I was a haulier, if I was an agricultural contractor, I would be saying, yeah, but how do I remain in business today? I do think we need targeted responses for those particular sectors," McPartland said.
Members of the public are advised to plan their journeys by ensuring they leave additional time for possible traffic disruptions.
Gardaí have warned that there will be significant additional traffic, including slow-moving vehicles, on the main arteries leading to Dublin and in the vicinity of large urban areas across the country from around 8am.
Gardaí have had no role in permitting or authorising public gatherings or protests, but there is no permit required in order to organise any protest.
Additional reporting Sarah Slater
