Calls for a general election heard in Mayo as fuel protests continue
Over the past number of days, thousands of people across County Mayo have taken part in fuel protests, with convoys of vehicles moving through streets in towns and villages including Castlebar, Ballina and Foxford.
On Sunday, a crowd of an estimated 3,000 people gathered at Market Square in Castlebar following a procession of vehicles through the town.
As demonstrators made their way through Main Street, chants calling for a general election and for the Government to get “out, out, out” could be heard.
The procession paused at the junction on Castle Street, where car horns continued to blare and the crowd broke into a rendition of Ireland’s Call.
Those gathered represented a broad cross-section of the community, including farmers, contractors, bus drivers, small business owners, nurses, home helpers and families.
Many said it was their first time taking part in a protest, having been driven to act by the escalating cost of living, rising fuel prices and similar demonstrations taking place nationwide over the past week.
Gerry Loftus, from the Rural Ireland Organisation, was among those leading the demonstration, and said the turnout reflected a wider shift in mindset among ordinary people.
He also confirmed that the organisation has lobbied the eight Independent TDs supporting the Government to back Sinn Féin’s motion of no confidence, which is due to be tabled on Tuesday, April 14.
“I have never been at any protest like the one in Castlebar yesterday in my lifetime,” he said. “90pc of people there were never at a protest before”.
Mr Loftus described those gathered as “genuine people”, families, farmers and contractors, who are all deeply concerned about the cost of living.
“The general feeling was desperation, of being let down, of [having] absolutely no confidence in Micheál Martin or Simon Harris or this Government,
“[People are] absolutely at an all-time low, and are seriously concerned with how they are going to survive,” he said.
Excise on petrol and diesel will be cut by 10c and green diesel by 2.4pc, but Mr Loftus said the measures did not go far enough.
He also raised concerns about the absence of support for home heating oil and criticised what he described as a lack of engagement with protest leaders.
“The protestors didn’t have any representation in there. What farmer would accept a 2.4pc decrease in green diesel?” he said. “And home heating oil never got a mention.”
Mr Loftus added that workers in sectors such as home help, which he described as vital to rural communities, would see little benefit from the measures.
“A 10pc reduction to them is non-existent,” he said.
He said the protests are set to continue, noting that when he asked those gathered yesterday if they would return to Castlebar at the same time next week, there was “overwhelming support”.
“I have never in my life seen such a negative impact [made] by a Government, and a negative impact from two people, Michael Martin and Simon Harris,” he said. “I have never seen a crisis or a problem handled so badly.”
An estimated 3,000 people showed up in Castlebar on Sunday, April 12, to protest. Photo: Gerry Loftus.
Protests continued on Monday morning, with a convoy of HGVs and tractors moving through Castlebar. Demonstrators also stopped to speak with Minister of State Alan Dillon outside his office in the town centre.
In Ballina, around 100 vehicles formed a convoy, gathering at the Great National Hotel on the Foxford Road before travelling through the town over the Lower and Upper bridges, bringing traffic to a near standstill.
The demonstration in Ballina was organised by the Fuel Protest Ballina Group, separate from the Castlebar protest, which was organised by Common Rose Mayo.
Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh was the only political representative present at Sunday’s protest in Castlebar, and also attended demonstrations in both Castlebar and Ballina on Monday morning.
She said she was there to support “the ordinary decent farmers, contractors and business people in this country” and commended those who turned out.
The Sinn Féin TD echoed comments made by Mr Loftus and said she was particularly struck by the number of families in attendance, and by the number of people who were taking part in a protest for the first time.
She said this reflected the “accumulative impact of the cost of living”, which had pushed many to the breaking point, adding that “they feel they just can’t take any more in trying to make ends meet”.
She highlighted frustration among among the crowd at what they felt was a lack of engagement from Government with protest organisers, as well as anger at the decision to deploy the army to remove protesters from blockades, adding that “people were very dissatisfied with that”.
However, the main message she heard was “story after story of people struggling to be able to afford to live”.
Deputy Conway-Walsh said those attending “want to see the protests end”.
“Nobody I spoke to yesterday or today wants to be protesting, they want to be going out and earning a living for their families,
“Working people are left behind again, from home help workers, to the small businesses working day and night trying to keep their doors open. The Government needs to listen,” she said.
Demonstrators made their way through the town, across the Mall and stopped at Market Sqaure to listen to key speakers. Photo: Gerry Loftus.
Even with the Government announcing its expanded fuel support package, she said the reaction among those in Castlebar and Ballina on Monday morning was overwhelmingly negative.
“They were clearly saying, this doesn't cut it, this will not make the difference that we need [in order] to make it affordable for us to do our jobs, to fulfil contracts, to fill up with diesel or petrol,” she said.
There were also concerns about the lack of support for home heating oil, with many families sharing experiences of struggling to afford to heat their homes.
She recounted meeting a plumber in Ballina who said he is increasingly being called to homes to fix airlocks in heating systems, caused by households relying on small drums of oil rather than filling their tanks.
“He said to me, ‘How can I charge them a plumber's call out fee when I know that’s all the oil they can afford to put into their heating’,
“It is absolutely heartbreaking. That is what the Government need to hear, what it is like for people, particularly in rural Ireland where they are dependent on home heating oil,” she said.
Sinn Féin is set to table a motion of no confidence in the Government on Tuesday, April 14, with opposition parties including Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit all expected to support the motion.
However, the Government will put down a motion of confidence which it is expected to win comfortably.
“It is obvious that the Government has failed to take responsibility for the crisis. They have allowed it to spiral out of control,” Deputy Conway-Walsh said.
“Yes, we came into the fuel crisis and the oil crisis in the middle of a time where people were struggling, and businesses were struggling, but even with all of that, people have been astounded and disgusted by the level of arrogance that has been shown to them from the government,” she added.
Deputy Conway-Walsh said the position of Independent TDs and backbenchers in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will be crucial to the outcome of the vote.
“We are hoping that Lowry’s Independents, who are propping up the Government, think about the people they represent and listen to those people, and they take this opportunity Sinn Féin is presenting to them to make the voices of their constituents heard,
“We also hope that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenchers will bring the voices of the people they represent to the Dáil by voting for our motion,” she said.
“If the Independents and the backbench Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs still have full confidence in Simon Harris and Micheál Martin, well then, it is beyond me,” she added.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.