Public can see fuel supply improve 'over days, not hours'

Ireland is "beginning to claw back" fuel supply, but there will still be several hundred forecourts without fuel in the coming days, according to Fuels for Ireland.

Fuels for Ireland CEO Kevin McPartlan said the forecourts without fuel will mostly be concentrated on the west coast and south of the country.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, he said that "we are doing everything we can" and that the Government response has "ramped up".

He said that fuel will be back at full capacity within 24 hours in the Whitegate refinery, and the clearance of the Galway docks and Foynes blockade will ramp up progress in recovery.

It could take up to ten days before the normal delivery cycle will be fully restored, he added.

Earlier, in a statement, Mr McPartlan said restoring fuel supplies will take place "at a measured pace".

He said that a logistics and distribution challenge is being dealt with and a number of "practical factors" are slowing the pace of recovery.

However, he said that every effort is being made to maximise deliveries "safely and lawfully" but that recovery will "happen in stages, not all at once".

The public should expect an improvement in fuel supply over days and not hours, he said.

"The priority now is to restore a reliable national distribution as quickly and safely as possible," Mr McPartlan said in the statement.

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