Fuel Protests: Trucks hold up traffic on the N4, Dublin Town 'O'Connell Street must never be closed off again'
Michael Bolton, Sarah Slater, and PA.
- Public transport is back up and running as normal
- Disruption on the M9 and N81
- Blockages on the M1
- Government to face no-confidence motion over fuel costs
- Government to undertake ‘fundamental security review’ after fuel protests
- Spokesperson for protestors said they have "achieved something small".
- Garda Commissioner has directed that all rest days be cancelled until 7 pm tomorrow.
- Go-slow fuel protest by trucks on the N4 main dual carriageway south of Sligo town.
1:30pm
There is another go-slow fuel protest by trucks on the N4 main dual carriageway south of Sligo town, which started at 7.30am this morning.
Trucks held up traffic in both directions, causing traffic disruption at rush hour. Gardaí are on scene and directing traffic along alternative routes.
1:25pm
The chief executive of business group Dublin Town said O’Connell Street must never again be closed off in the same fashion.
Large-scale, future lengthy protests in the capital should take place at a designated site away from O’Connell Street, Richard Guiney said.
Dublin Town represents over 2,500 businesses in the City centre and works to improve the city's commercial environment, promote it as a shopping and leisure destination, and runs initiatives to attract visitors.
Mr Guiney said while the organisation wholeheartedly accepts the right to peaceful protest, particularly in the capital city, what had transpired during the fuel protests on O’Connell Street, its premier artery, had been utterly unacceptable
“While totally accepting the need and right to protest in the capital city, disrupting public transport and bringing its major thoroughfare to a halt for a protracted period of time is simply wrong.
“Business was impacted, public transport was disrupted, and hospital appointments were missed. In other parts of the country, protesters minimised such disruption, but not in Dublin.
“Recent changes to traffic routes ensured that the closure of O’Connell Street effectively paralysed College Green, Henry Street, Middle Abbey Street and a huge area of Dublin.
“Three quarters of its customer base uses public transport to access the City centre, and O’Connell Street feeds people to all kinds of businesses and public facilities.
“The protest led to a decline in footfall in the city centre during the Easter school holidays as well as disrupting medical schedules in nearby hospitals and severely discommoding many commuters, shoppers and tourists," he said.
1pm
The Garda Commissioner sent a message to all Garda personnel during the protests saying: "Since the start of the fuel protests, you have been working hard to deal with many challenging policing situations all across the country. You have done this with great professionalism and dedication, and I wish to thank you all sincerely for this. I completely understand the really difficult situations many of you have faced with.
"Thanks to your efforts we have broken the illegal blockades which were interfering with access to our critical national infrastructure. This has meant that our emergency services, hospital and fuel supply network were able to continue to operate.
"I also want to thank you for responding to our calls for additional personnel needed to deal with this situation. Again, I appreciate many of you made personal sacrifices to answer this call to duty. Your Representative Associations are to be complimented for the level of co-operation that they have provided during this unprecedented period.
"I am concerned to hear about attempts in person and online to threaten and intimidate Gardaí who are engaged in their lawful work. I have viewed some of this online material myself and have been absolutely appalled by it. This will not be tolerated and will be fully investigated to bring those involved to justice."
Today, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly had this message for Garda personnel. pic.twitter.com/fskmylYCds
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) April 13, 2026
12:20pm
Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, acknowledged there was “frustration out there” and that people had been driven to protest due to “a really significant shock to their energy bills”.
As the Irish Examiner reports, Mr Heydon said that a narrative had formed on social media that the government “don’t understand” and was “not listening”, but he said they were “reacting in real-time” to the war in the Middle East.
“I would very much counter that, we are reacting in real-time, but as a government, we absolutely listen and have to respond when an awful lot of people protest – protests and blockades are two different things,” he told .
“I absolutely, fundamentally respect and will passionately fight for people’s right to protest and tell me they disagree with me, but when people block critical infrastructure, that is different.”
Mr Heydon said that, along with the 7.2c cut on excise on green diesel, he had secured a new €100 million subsidy scheme for high fuel users, which would see a further cut of 20c a litre.
“Government has put €100 million behind us, the same way they put €140 million behind the package for the hauliers, at the same time as helping every citizen of the state who drives a car or who relies on the cost of white diesel,” he said.
“We now see further reductions, cumulatively now: 32c per litre is the reduction on diesel; 27c per litre is the reduction on petrol, as well as the clearing of the remaining excise on green diesel and the subsidy on top of that.”
11:18am
A convoy of slow-moving vehicles is now moving into the Tallaght area and will soon be reaching the M50 interchange.
10.17am
A Facebook page where information about the protests had been shared posted information on Sunday night, both suggesting the protests should continue on Monday and that “all protestors and gardaí go home”.
Although blockades at fuel depots and Ireland’s only oil refinery have been lifted, smaller protests continued on motorways around Dublin.
Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary said the protesters had not won as engagement had been ongoing with farming and transport representative groups on further support before the protests began on Tuesday.
He told Raidio na Gaeltachta that the two packages announced by the Irish government were among the largest in Europe, and that the measures would have an influence on the government’s budget in October.
10.10am
There are a number of tailbacks in towns across Mayo this morning as the national fuel protests continue.
Traffic delays are being reported in Castlebar and Ballina with a large presence of trucks, tractors and commercial vehicles in both towns.
Traffic is at a standstill in Ballina town centre this morning as the protest continues.
10.08am
Sean O’Neill of Transport Infrastructure Ireland has urged motorway protestors to keep hard shoulders clear for emergency vehicles and highlighted how the rolling protests across the Irish road network are fluid and evolving.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio before 9am, he said that “on the M1 southbound, there is congestion between junction 12 and junction 9, so that’s earlier at Drogheda, and that’s a go slow, there are people protesting there.
“And then on the M3 we have a full closure now, which wasn’t fully closed earlier today, and that is between Kells junction 11 southbound and junction N9 in Navan is fully closed in both directions. He said there was “a go-slow movement” on the M7 leading onto the Long Mile Road this morning, but it was cleared, although not before it caused “significant congestion”.
He added that there was also a go-slow on the N28 Cork to Ringaskiddy, “Anyone listening and people out on the network, we do ask that they keep the hard shoulder open. It’s for emergency vehicles and emergency trips. Whatever your actions are on the motorway network, please keep those open, because it’s just unacceptable. People need those it’s for emergency needs.”
9.40am
Volunteers of a soup kitchen say they were intimidated in Dublin at the weekend’s fuel protest.
The Muslim Sisters of Éire host a weekly soup run on O'Connell Street, to provide food and hot meals to people experiencing homelessness.
The charity says last week's run 'took a deeply upsetting turn' when they experienced verbal abuse from a group of people protesting outside the GPO.
Chairperson Lorraine O’Connor says the situation turned hostile, and thanked the homeless community for stepping up to protect them.
9.08am
The chief executive of Fuels For Ireland Kevin McPartlan, has said fuel trucks are moving around the country following the lifting of blockades over the weekend but he warned that it could take 10 days before supplies return to normal levels and he called for secure access to supplies for his members following days of what he said ere “intimidation and threats and insults to drivers”.
He said drivers had been identified and intimidated by protesters, and family members had been contacted “when they’re sitting waiting to load. It’s really poor. I’m not suggesting that everybody involved in protests is involved in that stuff but there are [some] still doing that.”
He told Morning Ireland that the next key thing “is to make sure that the road network across the country is unhindered so we can actually get fuel to the people who need it.”
He said that in the long term “what has happened over the last few days has kind of created a precedent that people could see these as targets for the future so I think they’re going to need to be conversations around the security of those sites and the way the State manages that that security.”
8.25pm
A spokesman for the Dublin fuel protest has said that they “achieved something small” in €505 million worth of government measures, but said he has “no control” over further protests.
Blockades at fuel depots and Ireland’s only oil refinery have been lifted, but traffic disruption continued in parts of the country on Monday due to some protests.
“Nobody knows what the plan is, that’s being straight out there,” said John Dallon, a Kildare farmer and agriculture contractor who was at the Dublin protest.
He said that he welcomed the reduction in green diesel, but the government “should have done something” on kerosene.
“This protest is out of my hands, it escalated to somewhat so big, and I don’t know where it’s going to end, but it’s the government’s fault,” he told Newstalk radio on Monday.
“We achieved something small, but this is something way bigger now, and I have no control over it, and that’s exactly where I’m coming from.
“It’s gone to the stage that it seems like, looking out there, that the people of the island of Ireland have no confidence in this government anymore.”
8.10am
The following Bus Éireann routes have been cancelled.
Route 101
09:00 Dublin to Drogheda - Cancelled
09:40 Dublin to Drogheda - Cancelled
Route 105
09:45 Navan Rd Stn to Drogheda - Cancelled
Route 109
08:15 Dublin to Dunshaughlin - Cancelled
10:25 Dunshaughlin to Dublin - Cancelled
Route 160
Delayed departures may be expected
Route 167
Delayed departures may be expected
Route 168
07:59 Annagassan to Dundalk - Cancelled
Route 354
09:30 The Clock Tower to Dunmore East - Cancelled
10:20 Dunmore East to The Clock Tower - Cancelled
Route NX
08:00 Navan to Dublin - Cancelled
08:40 Navan to Dublin - Cancelled
Route B1
7.53am
Slow-moving convoys and road blockages by fuel protestors are continuing this morning.
In Meath, there is a full road closure on the M3/N3 between Junction 11 Kells and Junction 9 Navan going southbound.
Significant delays are likely, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland is advising drivers to use a different route.
In Cavan, the N3 southbound is solid behind a convoy on the Kells side of Virginia.
In Kildare, the M9 northbound is busy at Jctn 3, Athy, where protestors have gathered.
In Louth, there are convoys on the M1 southbound before Jctn 14 Ardee and Jctn 12 Dunleer.
In Cork, the N28 Ringaskiddy Rd westbound is busy between Shanbally Cross and a protest near Rafeen bridge.
The opposition is slamming the decision to call off two practical exams on Monday
The State Examinations Commission is deferring Leaving Cert Music and Junior Cycle Home Economics' practical examinations.
Social Democrats Education spokesperson Jen Cummins says it's come to late to call off today's practical exams.
"My understanding is that they were nervous that not only students but examiners would not be able to make it to the schools.
"If they had those concerns over the weekend, they should have made that decision sooner. Why leave it to the last minute, where stidents are coming to school and only finding out in the last minute they have cancelled an exam.
The M9 is currently blocked off northbound at Junction 3 Athy, and traffic is being diverted off to the old N9 up to Kilcullen in Kildare.
There are long queues heading into Kilcullen as a result.
The N81 in Wicklow is operating with a slow go protest heading north from Hollywood in the Blessington direction, with a large amount of tractors involved.
The Garda Commissioner has extended the declaration of an 'exceptional event' until Tuesday.
Justin Kelly has directed that all rest days are cancelled until 7 pm on Tuesday and extended to 8 pm tonight.
'Exceptional Events' are declared when the Commissioner decides there is a security threat against the state.
It is understood Gardaí were informed by their representative bodies last night of the extension.
Dublin Bus is back operating as normal on Monday morning.
The Luas Red and Green Line is also operating as normal.
