Some fuel protesters are being “manipulated” by “outside actors”, including British far-right activist and convicted criminal, Tommy Robinson.
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said “when you look online at present, you can see that many outside actors are seeking to manipulate these people for their own purposes”.
He added that British right-wing activist Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) was “referring to and relying upon these protests to advance his own political measures”.
“So I think we need to recognise that people are being manipulated here, and we need to bring an end to these protests,” he said.
Earlier, the Deputy Vice President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Eugene Drennan, claimed rolling fuel protests had been ‘hijacked’.
There is further disruption on Ireland’s road networks for a third day and Gardaí have requested the assistance of the Defence Forces to remove vehicles blocking critical infrastructure.
The move was confirmed earlier in a statement from Mr O’Callaghan, who said the blocking of such infrastructure will not be permitted to continue.
Mr O’Callaghan said large vehicles blocking infrastructure, such as the Whitegate refinery in Co Cork, will be removed.
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Owners of the vehicles are being requested to move them immediately, as they are denying people access to fuel, which was described in the statement as an “unacceptable interference”.
The statement adds that owners “should not complain” about any damage caused to vehicles during removal by gardaí and the Defence Forces.
Read the full report on www.rte.ie