Hundreds of Irish petrol stations run out of fuel as protests continue

Hundreds of petrol stations in the Republic of Ireland have run out of fuel as protests over high prices continue for a fifth day.

RTÉ said about 600 forecourts had run out of petrol and diesel due to the protests, involving slow-moving convoys made up of vehicles including tractors.

Blockades at three fuel-storage facilities - Whitegate oil refinery in County Cork and fuel depots in counties Limerick and Galway - are continuing.

Fuels for Ireland, which represents companies that import, distribute, and sell fuel warned two-thirds of petrol stations in the Republic of Ireland would be out of stock by the end of Saturday if the blockades at the three fuel-storage facilities continued.

The blockade of parts of Dublin city centre is continuing, with O'Connell Street and South Quay closed to traffic.

Other disruption includes:

There are also blockades at three fuel-storage facilities.

There has been a warning that ships could soon be turned away from Rosslare Europort in County Wexford due to capacity issues.

Protesters have set up a blockade at the nearby village of Kilrane about a mile from the port.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said the situation could come to a head late on Sunday night or early on Monday morning.

Public transport has also been affected, with some services suspended and major disruption in Dublin.

Bus Éireann said it would try to serve Dublin Airport passengers where possible, while people travelling to Shannon and Dublin Airports are advised to allow extra time.

An Garda Síochána (Irish police service), has declared an "exceptional event" in response to the fuel protests, allowing it to double the number of officers available to work.

Meanwhile, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said it was assessing social media posts calling for planned protests and had prepared a response to minimise disruption and ensure public safety.

Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure advised people to allow extra time for their journeys should protests go ahead.

Meetings between Irish ministers and stakeholders are expected to continue over the weekend.

On Friday, Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) and Finance Minister Simon Harris said that there would be a "substantial and significant" package of support for "key sectors of the economy".

Harris said the talks were "going well", adding that further "intensive engagement" into the weekend was likely.

However, he added: "The blockade has to end."

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said the blockades meant the country was "on the precipice of turning oil away from the country" during a global oil supply crisis.

Speaking in Dublin on Saturday, Mary Lou McDonald the leader of Sinn Féin, said the Irish Government had allowed a "difficult situation" to escalate and urged it to engage with protesters to negotiate an end to the blockades.

On Friday, there were long queues on the M1, heading towards the border with Northern Ireland, due to protesters closing the motorway at Dundalk, with vehicles blocking both lanes at the Carlingford turnoff.

The National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG), which brings together government departments and state agencies to coordinate emergency response, said fuel supplies for emergency response vehicles, including the ambulance service and fire service, are under "increasing pressure".

Why are the protests taking place?

The conflict in the Middle East has caused rapid price rises for both petrol and diesel.

Diesel in the Republic of Ireland has risen from about €1.70 (£1.48) a litre to €2.17 (£1.89) on many forecourts in recent weeks and petrol is now up to 25 cents more per litre at many pumps.