Ireland’s sinister media crackdown over the fuel protests
From our UK edition
Last week, when Irish farmers and hauliers began their protest about the rising cost of fuel, they were dismissed as far-right by the government and much of the mainstream media. The protesters blocked O’Connell Street, motorways, the M50 (the equivalent of the M25, and just as horrid) and Ireland’s only oil refinery, as Liz Walsh writes here. Threatening to set the media regulator on media outlets is downright authoritarian Yet in the end the mud-slinging failed and the Irish government was forced to put together a support package on Sunday to help farmers and hauliers, in addition to €250 million worth of measures announced around three weeks ago. This was an Irish government omnishambles.
