19 trucks leave Cork's Whitegate oil refinery but full recovery could 'take 10 days'

Fuels For Ireland chief executive says it will take 10 days as 'drivers burned up their weekly hours in behind convoys and sitting behind blockades'

Fuel trucks heading to the oil refinery under garda escort at Whitegate village on Saturday. Picture: Larry Cummins

Nineteen trucks of fuel left Whitegate oil refinery in East Cork on Sunday morning, with approximately 40 more due to leave by lunchtime.

Fuels For Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said that it is not yet possible to establish how many service stations will remain out of fuel, but said that original projections of 1,000 being empty by the end of the weekend are now unlikely.

The fuel protest at the oil refinery was stood down on Saturday following a significant escalation of the Garda operation.

Mr McPartlan said that it is expected that Whitegate will be operating at full capacity on Monday but added that the clearance operation in Galway was still underway this morning, while no efforts had yet been made to end the blockade at Foynes port.

But he warned that it will be 10 days from when all three sites are back up and running before issues with fuel supply are fully dealt with.

He pointed out: "The reason it is taking so long is because with drivers' hours and regulations,

drivers burned up their weekly hours in behind convoys and sitting behind blockades. 

"There have been a number of false starts with drivers going to places and being told they might be able to collect and then being turned around with nothing. So drivers' hours are a bit of a problem today.” 

However, Mr McPartlan said: “It is really complex and there are so many moving parts. I am much more optimistic now than I was 24 hours ago. I think there has clearly been a change in attitude from the gardaí.” 

With regard to the Cabinet meeting on Sunday afternoon to sign off on a package of measures, Mr McPartlan said: “We hope that there will be some resolution and that the fundamental concerns are addressed. 

"For us, the issue the people complain about is very high fuel prices and fuel prices are very high in Ireland.” 

He called on the Government to set up an expert group comprising of a range of different groups, including Fuel for Ireland, road hauliers, agricultural contractors, coach operators, and the environmental lobby to future-proof whatever solution brings the current protests to a close.

He said: “The last time we had a price crisis on fuel in Ireland was in the immediate aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine. That is only four years ago. And in that four years, the government has caused the price of diesel to go up 26c per litre — that is carbon tax, the better energy levy, the renewable transport fuel obligation, a number of different things.

“I think the Government needs to take a step back, bring an expert group together. We want to be part of it, but you also need hauliers, you do need agricultural contractors, you need coach operators, you need the environmental lobby to talk about how we use taxation as a driver for the behavioural change we want. 

"If they set that up as part of the response to this particular issue, then I think we would be future-proofing the solution that we come up with.”