WE ASKED OUR readers on Thursday afternoon what they think of the fuel price protests and if they have been impacted by the disruptions they are causing.
The protesters are calling for further reductions of fuel taxes, after the government cut excise duty on diesel by 20 cent and petrol by 15 cent until the end of May.
They have blocked roads and blockaded fuel facilities. The government’s emergency group has heard that if the protests persist, drinking water, medical supplies and emergency services will be impacted.
The responses from our readers were mixed.
There are plenty of respondents who fully support the protesters, while many are strongly opposed. Some expressed backing for the principle behind the protests but not the actions of those taking part.
There was plenty of criticism for the government’s handling of the fuel crisis and the protests themselves.
When it came to the impacts on reader’s lives, most said they had not felt any. Some of those who have been impacted said they were willing to put up with it, while others did not.
So, in their own words, here is what our readers had to say:
Vincent Hughes, managing director at a food company
The government have acted shamefully in this: rather than de-escalating the problem, they have been aggressive and not very understanding or empathetic.
Truly very poor by Micheál Martin.
Jean Pollard (71), retired
I certainly do (support the protesters) even more so after hearing what our so-called government had to say. I felt, and totally still do, enraged. They are totally out of touch with reality at this stage and certainly don’t represent me.
John Ryan
I am tilting more to supporting the protest now than at the start of the week.
Anonymous
I am fully against the message of the protest, but would love to see this level of energy directed at wealth inequality and the housing crisis.
I can no longer visit friends up the country this weekend as I do not have enough fuel in the tank, and stations nearby are running out.
J. Hahn, in Mayo
I drive a van for my job and I support the protests. I got caught up in several blockades this week and I don’t have a problem with that. If the government hadn’t given such miserly “supports” to us all then the protests wouldn’t be happening.
You reap what you sow. They created this situation, not the hauliers or farmers.
Jacqueline, medical professional
You (the protesters) are holding us, the people of Ireland, to ransom. Not allowing us to get to hospital, work and disrupting deliveries of food, fuel and essentials to live our daily lives.
Protesters, back down NOW before you endanger your neighbour’s life and engage in meaningful dialogue and action. STOP NOW.
Jean Harrison
Reminds me of the riots in Dublin two years ago. Who is really behind this? … Out for a lark. Not a legitimate protest.
Evan, 21, a student in Limerick
All the idiots out blocking up the motorways should be fined and have their vehicles seized. They’ve done zero good for anyone, only made the problem worse.
Marian
I think they’re 100% right. Our politicians are so far removed from the reality of normal people’s lives that they have been forced to take this action to be taken seriously!
Amanda (55), a special-needs assistant in Dublin
I’ve just driven from Dublin to Tipperary for an essential reason. It took me over three hours when normally it’s an hour and 45 minutes. These blockades cost me more money to make the drive when money is already tight.
I understand why they are doing it, but surely it’s not right that we are victims of it. We can do nothing, yet we are paying a price.
Alana Meehan
I absolutely support the protest. The government is wrong here. People would be less militant if they were being met somewhere in the middle.
The package put forward a couple of weeks ago didn’t benefit me at all, didn’t mitigate all the rising prices across the board.
I need help now. The blocked roads are highlighting my plight and the government is tone-deaf.
Paddy Glackin
I most certainly do not support the protest in its current form. It is a threat to the state and is being manipulated by the dark forces of the right.
Brian (34), a social worker in Limerick
100% agree with protesters but in reality this is a government that’s spent the better part of a decade doing nothing from housing to health etc. They’ve no intention of changing now.
But despite the impact on myself, I’ll happily take a hit if it means the government finally wakes up to reality.
Luis Sayegh (44), a cybersecurity analyst in Dublin
There is a significant difference between exercising the right to protest and holding an entire city hostage.
If your landlord refuses to fix your heating, the right response is to contact the RTB or seek legal advice. It is not to chain the front gate of your apartment complex shut so that none of your neighbours can get to work.
At the end of that day, your heating is still broken, your neighbours rightly resent you, and your landlord is sitting at home completely unbothered.
Evangelos (20), a sales assistant in Castleroy
These protests are an embarrassment, it’s clear that they don’t actually have much of an intention to try lower the price of fuel, they only want to spread fear and disrupt the lives of everyday people.
Eric (22) a student in Limerick City
Each and every one of them ‘protesters’ should be fined and vehicles seized. I use the word protesters very lightly because let’s be real these aren’t protesters they’re people whose only intent is to fearmonger and disrupt the lives of ordinary hardworking individuals. Also this is the fourth day of this nonsense – do they not have jobs to be at.
Sandra McCarthy in Dublin
I don’t support the protests. Targeting the carbon tax and government subsidies of fuel costs is like a dream come true for fossil fuel industry.
What we should be protesting is the government’s failure to better insulate us from these global events through transition away from a carbon economy and food security.
Anonymous (25), a project manager in Roscommon
I don’t support the protests.
They are effectively blackmailing the country and making an already difficult situation worse. If people are struggling with costs, it makes little sense to stop working and burn fuel for days on end.
The government should not engage or make changes in response to this. Doing so would set a dangerous precedent. If a relatively small number of people in a few locations can force change, it will simply happen again and again.
Anonymous, a retired dairy farmer
I support the protesters fully. The cost of fuel has gone outside the normal range of most people and farmers and contractors cannot sustain the cost any longer.
In my opinion the main negotiating organisations have failed miserably to convey the utter anger, fear for the future and mental/financial health of ordinary people.
That’s why the current protesters have had to take to the streets themselves.
The government has badly read the situation and is really causing a difficult situation to spiral unnecessarily towards anarchy.
Pauline
I just don’t understand why the government won’t sit down and talk to them. Government spokespeople keep shifting the narrative – they’re now talking about the far-right in England being involved. It’s laughable and I feel the protesters are genuine and have a point.
Catherine, a nurse
I am still supporting the fuel protest. I am a nurse in the community. We use our cars to travel between clinical locations.
No increase in the HSE mileage allowance to cover the increasing fuel costs yet we must use our personal vehicles for work. Some colleagues are genuinely going hungry so they can feed their families and pay the bills.
Aisling Considine, a primary school teacher in Dublin
Yes I support the protest. This is a protest to stand up for the ordinary people of Ireland, people who the government is refusing to give any meaningful help to in a fuel crisis. Cut the VAT and introduce a daily cap on fuel retail prices, like the Polish government did. They should also abandon the unfair, ridiculous carbon tax.
Anita Doyle
I support the fuel protest and, likewise, we should all be out protesting against the fuel prices and the cost of living in general.
Michael Barrington
I am not affected by this. I have huge sympathy for people whose fuel costs have gone through the roof.
At this point I have no sympathy whatsoever with the protesters because of their modus operandi.
Corban Kelly
100% agree with them. Was sitting in traffic for two hours today on the M1 to get onto the M50 and didn’t bother me one bit. Great job they’re doing and they should keep it up.
The government will not win this battle! Support the farmers and hauliers!! Ireland is behind yous!
Sinead Connolly, a social care worker in Cork
I am of course nervous that I will not be able to get to work due to not having access to fuel. But I am not as nervous as I am to not be able to afford diesel to get to work in a long term and therefore possibly end up redundant and costing the government and my fellow working class more in tax.
What the people are doing is asking for a sit-down honest conversation and all of this ends. They have not been violent, they have not been malicious. But they are being repeatedly ignored so they stepped up their protest to the only way that demands answers and a seat at the table.
Dermot Demsey
The blockades are a disgrace and government should have acted earlier and removed same, forcibly if necessary.
Thomas (39), a small business owner in the midlands
I 100% back what the protesters are doing and am very proud of the Irish people finally standing up against this government.
Micheál and Simon are just in it for themselves and their friends and are completely out of touch with the working class.
Ronan
I fully support democratic protests. We’ve had many truck go-slow protests over the years. But these protests are now in the same league of targeting politicians’ houses and when they are out shopping etc. Beyond the pale.
Kevin St John
I don’t support the protest. Mainly because it is not a protest but holding the country to ransom. I work for a multinational company in Limerick but live in Ennis.
They track my attendance on site, which affects who they select for redundancy. At the moment I can’t get to work because of the protest.
Catherine O’Connor in Wexford
I agree with the protesters. There needs to be protests countrywide; people need to get out on the streets and show this government how unhappy people are.
This really is the straw that broke the camel’s back. The fact the government didn’t help people with the cost of home heating oil especially is a testament to how little they care about people.
Paul Murray
I’ve not been affected yet, but am concerned that any succumbing to this industrial thuggery will set another precedent of acceptance of lawlessness.
Anonymous (48), in Galway
I totally support the ongoing fuel protest. After all these guys are protesting for us all! These are the essential workers who we were so thankful for during Covid!!
We pay too much excise duty on fuel in this country and during a world crisis this government of ours should cap prices or dramatically reduce the excise duty for a period of time.
Anonymous, a teacher in Kildare
I agree life is difficult for everyone due to fuel costs, but these protests are outrageous. They have no right to put everyone out by their actions.
Anonymous (40s), in Dublin
I have Crohn’s disease, no colostomy bag yet, so I need toilet access quickly when I gotta go. Normal travel gives me toilet anxiety, but I have it timed usually.
I got stuck on bus on Tuesday, and… Well… I didn’t make a toilet… I got caught behind blockade on M50 today, and I didn’t make a toilet. Men get to piss on the side of the road, while I have to literally shit my pants.
Yay protests. We need action. But blockading travel routes and allowing freedom of travel to the point of removing people’s dignity is thuggery.