{"id":523898,"date":"2026-04-10T19:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/523898\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T19:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:44:09","slug":"fuel-price-protests-cause-chaos-in-ireland-and-spread-to-norway-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/523898\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuel-price protests cause chaos in Ireland and spread to Norway | Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Protests over fuel prices have caused chaos in Ireland<\/a> and spread to Norway<\/a> in a knock-on effect from the conflict in the Middle East<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hauliers, farmers and other groups blocked motorways and brought parts of Dublin to a standstill on Friday in a fourth consecutive day of action.<\/p>\n

In Ireland<\/a> the protests have sparked fuel shortages and travel disruption, and in Norway lorry drivers taking part in the \u201cdiesel roar\u201d protest descended on the capital. The Irish government put the army on standby to help remove blockades and police warned some protesters to disperse or face arrest, prompting defiance and threats to continue the disruption for weeks if necessary.<\/p>\n

Protests were endangering critical supplies of food, fuel, clean water and animal feed, the police force, An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na, said in a statement. \u201cThis is not tolerable and is against the law.\u201d Government leaders have accused protesters of holding the country to \u201cransom\u201d.<\/p>\n

The blockade of ports and a refinery meant Ireland was on the verge of turning away oil deliveries and losing its supply, the taoiseach, Miche\u00e1l Martin, told RT\u00c9<\/a>. \u201cIt is unconscionable, it\u2019s illogical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite government mitigation measures, in recent weeks the price of diesel has risen from about \u20ac1.70 a litre to \u20ac2.17 and petrol has jumped from about \u20ac1.74 to \u20ac1.97.<\/p>\n

Vehicles queue on O\u2019Connell Street in Dublin on the fourth day of the national fuel protest. Photograph: Liam McBurney\/PA<\/p>\n

Industry representatives were expected to convey their members\u2019 grievances at a meeting with ministers later on Friday but it was unclear whether that would satisfy protesters who have called for direct talks with the government.<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s deputy premier, Simon Harris, said there would be a \u201csubstantial and significant\u201d package of support for \u201ckey sectors of the economy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Harris said talks between government and representative bodies in the farming and haulage sectors were \u201cgoing well\u201d, adding that further \u201cintensive engagement\u201d into the weekend was likely.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RTE News, he said: \u201cThe blockade has to end.\u201d<\/p>\n

The justice minister, Jim O\u2019Callaghan, said \u201coutside actors\u201d, such as the British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, were manipulating the protests for their own agenda.<\/p>\n

In Denmark<\/a>\u2019s recent election <\/a>the far-right Danish People\u2019s party tried to tap into discontent by paying voters for their petrol.<\/p>\n

The rise in oil prices since the US and Israel began attacking Iran on 28 February has convulsed global markets and triggered outcries from consumers and businesses who want governments to do more to soften the blow.<\/p>\n

Some countries announced temporary cuts in fuel taxes while others took measures to restrict demand and considered rationing. The Philippines declared a state of \u201cnational energy emergency\u201d. Authorities in France tried to avert widespread shortages by announcing on Friday that fuel tankers would be allowed to circulate on weekends and public holidays until 11 May.<\/p>\n

In Norway<\/a> protesters on Friday drove a convoy of lorries to the parliament in Oslo. About 70 to 80 trucks, some with banners that read \u201cnok er nok!\u201d (enough is enough!), joined another group known as Dieselbr\u00f8let (diesel roar). Only a handful were allowed to drive into the capital.<\/p>\n

Norway cut fuel taxes on 1 April but hauliers say they need more predictable and lower prices. Despite being an oil producer, fuel prices in Norway have surged since the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz. The Statistics Norway institute said the price of fuel and lubricants rose by 17.9% from February to March, with diesel prices in that period jumping by 23.6%.<\/p>\n

A Statistics Norway spokesperson said it had never recorded a sharper month-on-month increase in fuel prices using the CPI inflation index. \u201cThe last time we saw something similar was in the spring of 2022, following Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but in that case the price increase occurred over two consecutive months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protesters take part in a blockade at a fuel depot in Foynes, County Limerick, on Friday. Photograph: Brendan Gleeson\/PA<\/p>\n

Last month the Irish government announced a \u20ac250m package of measures to reduce fuel costs, including a temporary excise duty reduction, expansion of a diesel rebate scheme for hauliers and bus operators and an extension of the fuel allowance.<\/p>\n

Blockades of Ireland\u2019s sole oil refinery at Whitegate, County Cork, and fuel depots in Galway City and Foynes in County Limerick crippled deliveries. Dozens of forecourts ran dry and there were warnings as motorists rushed to fill up on petrol and diesel.<\/p>\n

Columns of tractors and other vehicles closed motorways and Dublin\u2019s main thoroughfare, O\u2019Connell Street. The Irish Medical Organisation said slower emergency services response times and missed healthcare appointments would harm patient welfare. The courier company DPD suspended deliveries.<\/p>\n

Protesters were prepared to remain in the capital for weeks, a spokesperson, John Dallon, told RT\u00c9. \u201cIf it takes a month, we are prepared to sit here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He accused the government of ignoring the plight of people facing hardship and ruin because of fuel costs. \u201cHow dare they come out and say that these people that are protesting are holding the country to ransom? It\u2019s the government that\u2019s holding this country to ransom, not the protesters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The taoiseach postponed a trade mission to Canada to deal with the crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Protests over fuel prices have caused chaos in Ireland and spread to Norway in a knock-on effect from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-523898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}