Arrests made at Whitegate as garda operation escalates and Cork traffic disrupted

Garda commissioner Justin Kelly has confirmed that a number of arrests were made at Whitegate Oil Refinery this afternoon.

Access to the Whitegate oil refinery in East Cork was restored earlier, with several tankers escorted in and out of the facility, flanked by Gardaí on motorcycles.

This followed a significant escalation of the Garda operation at Whitegate around lunchtime, when members of the public order unit pushed protesters back about 100 feet, establishing a new line of barriers.

There were scuffles during that operation, with Gardaí reportedly deploying pepper spray, and some protesters being removed from the crowd. A large Garda presence remains at the scene.

More than an hour later, feed lorries were allowed access in and out of the Port of Cork.

Speaking at a press conference this evening, Mr Kelly said: “Some people have decided to escalate an already difficult situation by blockading critical national infrastructure such as fuel depots and oil refineries.

“This has resulted in fuel shortages that are directly impacting our emergency services.

“These are blockades. This is not a legitimate form of protest.” 

He added: “Their illegal activity is endangering the State.” Mr Kelly said the blockades were putting critical supplies at risk.

“We gave these blockaders fair warning that we were moving to an enforcement phase and they chose to ignore that and continue to hold the country to ransom,” he said.

He said a number of arrests had been made at Whitegate earlier today, adding: “In the further hours and days we will have further such operations”.

Such Garda operations have required the deployment of a large number of Gardaí, Mr Kelly added — “Gardaí who should have been engaged in patrolling cities and towns, community engagement, and investigating crimes such as domestic abuse.

“Instead, because of the illegal actions of a few, much of this valuable work to keep people safe is not taking place.

“We are aware that there has been intimidation of fuel tanker drivers, these are criminal offences, we will not tolerate this and we will investigate all such reports and prosecute suspects,” the garda commissioner said.

“Offences such as threats to kill or cause serious harm carry sentences of up to 10 years.”

Earlier this afternoon, a slow-moving convoy of tractors, lorries and cars caused significant congestion in Cork, with traffic heavy across the city as a result.

The convoy entered the city centre via the Western Road and Washington Street, travelling along the Grand Parade, the South Mall and on to Parnell Place.

This evening, two fuel tankers left Galway Port, the first to depart since Tuesday.

O’Connell Street and O’Connell Bridge remain blocked, causing disruption in the capital.

In a statement, the Garda Press Office said that, as well as trucks accessing Whitegate oil refinery, “following a Garda operation, trucks have been leaving Rosslare Port with critical supplies”.

It added: “Also, following engagement with protestors, trucks with critical supplies including fuel have been leaving Foynes Port”.

By this morning, about 600 of the 1,500 filling stations across the State had run dry, according to Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan.

He told RTÉ Radio that he expected the number “will grow quite dramatically” if ongoing blockades of fuel depots remain in place.