Police broke up a blockade in the centre of Dublin by fuel protesters who have brought much of Ireland to a standstill during the past week, as the government on Sunday prepared to approve cost-cutting measures they hope will end the six days of disruption over soaring costs at the pump.

As tractors and trucks that had blocked O’Connell Street were rolling out of the capital, protests continued elsewhere, with police on the other side of the country clashing with demonstrators at the Galway docks where a military vehicle was used to knock down a makeshift barrier.

Protests were diminishing on Sunday amid a police crackdown but they caused chaos as blockades at Ireland’s only oil refinery, a major port and several vital depots prevented tanker trucks from delivering fuel to service stations and many petrol pumps ran dry. Slow-moving convoys of vehicles also caused traffic jams on major highways.

Police began cracking down on Saturday, using pepper spray to help clear protesters at the Whitegate refinery in County Cork and vowing to remove others who were endangering critical infrastructure and public safety, as gas shortages could prevent responses by emergency services.

“They are not a legitimate form of protest,” Irish police Commissioner Justin Kelly said on Saturday. “We gave the blockaders fair warning that we were moving to enforcement and they choose to ignore it and continue to hold the country to ransom.”

But a farmer who has become a spokesman for the group in Dublin said he was angry their peaceful protest had been “ambushed” by an army of officers overnight.