Anger due to inflation has finally reached the West as the streets of Dublin are beginning to get blocked off by a group of truckers and haulers calling themselves, The People Of Ireland Against Fuel Prices Protest. Officials said that the group is causing little to no disruptions overall, other than the city’s port area, where disruption is currently at an all-time high.
This morning, the group had threatened to “create so much chaos that officials would have no choice but to bring the city into a ‘complete lockdown.'” However, there has been no weight to their words since the start of the day. One may relate this trucker protest to that of the Freedom convoy in Canada that occurred earlier this year in response to restrictive Covid guidelines for truckers.
Some truckers in this protest stay in their parked trucks while others stand in groups on the road. Most of the protestors either carried banners with the slogan #Irishfuelprotest or with others calling for the resignation of Transport Minister Eamon Ryan. Those who weren’t holding the posters might’ve had them taped to their vehicles instead, perhaps both. On The People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices’ Facebook, you can see videos of police talking with the protestors and attempting to persuade them to dismember. When that wasn’t seeming to work, the police issued some of the protestors with penalty notices of Obstruction.
Many move to scrutinize the protests, one being Fine Gael Councillor David McManus. The Fine Gael went as far as to describe the protests as both “Misguided and pointless.” McManus further justified his opinion on things by bringing the facts to the people, “Government have already cut excise by 20c on petrol and 15c on diesel, reduced electricity bills by €200 and increased fuel allowance for the most vulnerable in our society. Further measures are being actively examined right now by Government.” Having an official lay the logistics out shows the kind of people Ireland has in office.
Some may think that The People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices seek an exemption or special price cuts due to the high petrol prices. Seeing protests breaking out worldwide and having had effective protests towards the end of 2021, it seems as though The People of Ireland Against Fuel Prices are acting almost radical.
The group said that they would continue to protest until they either get their demands met or find a compromise. The group held a couple of protests before Christmas, leading to significant traffic in and out of Dublin. Representatives of the organization have said the group was made up of “truck companies struggling to stay afloat.”
