Éire / Ireland

i wish they were happening at a time when the dáil was in session, to affect the people who most need to be affected by this.

that said, fair play to them for organising a protest that actually disrupts things & happens during the week, rather than a weekend protest that gets ignored.

it being almost immediately hijacked by racists & anti-immigration bigots is awful, and i fear it's going to make more people support the dangerous precedent of the army being called in.

i feel that the bigger picture isn't being looked at or talked about beyond fuel prices, at least by our media:

• non-renewable energy sources will always be at risk of shortages, so we need huge government investment in renewables yesterday.
• in the meantime, we need to be able to ration the fossil fuels that we have, and only having the right to request working from home isn't helpful for that.
• we need a bigger push to break ties with the u.s. & israel who started this war; even a bare minimum of keeping u.s. planes out of shannon airport & enacting the occupied territories bill would be such easy wins for the government.

I've mostly seen people confused what the protests are actually trying to acheieve (my personal view). Given this is a global issue. A price cap on fuel would only lead to quicker fuel rationing as we're running out of fuel either way.

I hadnt heard there was a racist component to the protests which makes me sad.

I rent in Ireland, so id love to see things like balcony solar be an actual option (the green party are pushing for this). It'd provide a quick and easy way to lower my monthly costs!

Nobody should have to show papers or ID to "protesters" to attend a medical appointment or access essential services. The violent language such as putting guns to peoples heads (as one of them said on national TV), a sign calling for hangings, etc is not normal protest.

It's also not a good look for the organisers to be asking for taxpayer subsidies while also having a record of not paying tax.

Ideally the government would have us on so much solar that, like Spain and other countries, we would be well shielded from the impacts of this illegal war. Unfortunately farmer and haulier reps have consistently decried and voted against climate action in Ireland. They are to blame for this aspect of the disaster and are holding others to ransom for their own errors.

I don't support the government and think the social contract is so badly broken that the same government cannot (or will not) right the wrongs done. I sympathise with the farmers who are trying to clarify that the anti-immigrant element are hijacking their cause. Protests should be disruptive, but these have crossed a line and I don't support them or their demands. We need to transition away from fossil fuels, not subsidise them.