Taoiseach Micheál Martin will convene a Cabinet meeting on Sunday amid continuing nationwide protests over the rising cost of fuel.
The unusual step comes after engagements on Saturday between the Government and representative groups on possible supports for farmers, hauliers, and contractors most affected by the spike in costs triggered by the war in Iran.
The temporary Fuel Support Scheme is expected to be introduced, though the Government has said it will not be unveiled until after the protests end.
Ministers for Justice and Defence Jim O’Callaghan and Helen McEntee are expected to update ministers on Garda and Defence Forces operations at Sunday’s Cabinet meeting.
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“There will also be an update on the talks that have been ongoing throughout the weekend,” a Government spokesperson said.
Protests continued to cause wide-scale traffic and other disruption on Saturday, while gardaí managed to clear the blockade at the Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork.
Government sources said the Fuel Support Scheme will be targeted at those directly involved in Ireland’s food supply chains, such as farmers, hauliers, fisheries and agribusinesses.
Such groups are considered to have been most affected by the surge in farm and contractor fuel costs and are expected to receive direct payments under the plan.
Although a package worth €250 million was already approved to alleviate pressure, it is understood the Government is conscious that further targeted measures are required.
The Government is also believed to be engaging with the European Commission to ensure any additional supports can be delivered in line with State aid rules.
Any fuel support scheme would be expected to be time-bound and kept under review. The Government position during the recent disruption is that blockades will only damage the wider economy.
A sixth day of demonstrations has been confirmed for Sunday. In a post on Facebook, the People Of Ireland Against Fuel Prices Protest group said there would be gatherings in towns and counties across the country for “a peaceful nationwide protest”.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said the blockades of fuel facilities by protesters were an illegal activity “that is endangering our State”.
“Some people have decided to escalate an already difficult situation by blockading critical national infrastructure such as fuel depots and refineries,” he said. “These are blockades. They are not a legitimate form of protest.”
In their fifth day, the demonstrations continued to cause significant traffic and other disruption around the country on Saturday.
However, fuel tankers began to emerge from the Whitegate refinery in Cork under garda escort during the afternoon following an operation to remove a blockade in the village.
Tempers flared and pepper spray was used by some members of the Garda Public Order Unit as they proceeded to push protesters back from the main road. In the end, the operation to clear the blockade took about an hour. The Garda Commissioner, who said gardaí had been left with no choice, warned of further, similar actions in the hours and days ahead.
The developments in Cork may reduce some concerns around fuel supply. Earlier on Saturday, Kevin McPartlan, chief executive of the Fuels for Ireland umbrella group, said that if blockades at terminals in Cork, Limerick and Galway were not lifted by Monday, “we will not be in a position to guarantee fuel availability at forecourts nationwide by early next week”.
Up to 600 of the 1,500 filling stations around the country had run dry.
Another blockade at Kilrain, approximately one mile from Rosslare Europort in Co Wexford, remained in place with only passenger traffic, refrigerated food supplies and pharmaceutical cargo from Rosslare allowed through on Saturday.
“There is currently about a mile of a tailback of trucks,” Irish Rail, which runs the port, said on Saturday. “We will shortly be facing challenges as we have two ships coming in tomorrow/early Monday morning and once they off-load we will have no further capacity. We will then have to turn ships back to wait on anchor out from the port or advise to go to an alternative port.”
It said that even once the blockades were lifted, it would take time to clear existing cargo before it could take more in.
In Limerick, protesters at the Foynes blockade said they would continue until their demands, including a fuel price cap, were met.
The protests continued to cause road closures. By 5pm, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) had listed 15 separate closures across its motorway network. In Dublin, hundreds gathered in O’Connell Street where traffic also continued to be brought to a standstill.
Earlier on Saturday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it had prepared a policing response ahead of planned protests across the six counties over the price of fuel next week.
Concerns continued around the impact of the protests on critical services. Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill spelt out the implications for hospitals.
“We are concerned, for example, that were this to continue, we would have difficulty in getting chemotherapy treatments delivered to hospitals,” she said. “We are concerned that we would have difficulties with laundry services to support the running of acute hospitals.”
The chief executive of the Health Service Executive, Anne O’Connor, said services were opening late at a number of hospitals and care centres around the country.
“The whole situation has been a very significant concern,” she told the Irish Medical Organisation conference in Killarney on Saturday. “If it continues, there will be a big impact next week.”
Home and Community Care Ireland (HCCI) said, similarly, that ongoing fuel shortages and blockades were placing its services at “serious risk” with “thousands of vulnerable older and disabled people” facing missed or reduced care in the coming days.
Carers in rural areas, particularly in the west, southwest and midlands, were being “hit hardest” as fuel supplies tightened.
“This is no longer a hypothetical risk; it has become a live operational crisis,” said its chief executive, Joseph Musgrave.
