Individual farmers are now planning on heading to the Port Tunnel and M50. \ Philip Doyle

Farmers taking part in the tractor protest in Dublin city centre are organising to close the Port Tunnel for a period of time this Thursday before heading for the M50.

Spokesperson for the individual farmers of Ireland James Geoghegan told the Irish Farmers Journal that as of 12.20pm farmers around Merrion Square and St Stephen’s Green were planning on heading to the Port Tunnel to continue their protest.

A Garda spokesperson told the Irish Farmer Journal that information made available to them indicated that the protest is "heading towards the port via the North Quays".

Traffic Update: This protest is currently on route to Dublin Port via the North Quays. — An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) January 16, 2020

Updates regarding the protest will be issued on @gardatraffic

Closing

“Every tractor and jeep on the protest will be going. We’re closing it [the Port Tunnel] for an hour or two,” he said.

“We’re then going down the M50 and slowing that. We’re heading home then,” he said.

Tractors are driving in a loop around the East Wall Road junction in the city.

#Traffic Update: Protest now doing a loop around the East Wall Rd. junction from Northbound to Southbound. Traffic on the internal road network moving. pic.twitter.com/xWKcF2RhVs — Dublin Port Company (@DublinPortCo) January 16, 2020

Wednesday

On Wednesday, farmers came to Dublin in tractors and jeeps, blocking up key arteries in Dublin city centre around Kildare Street, Stephen’s Green and Merrion Square, causing traffic delays.

Gardaí had closed a number of streets off.

At least 100 tractors and 200 farmers are taking part in the protest.

Read more

Weekly podcast: return of the tractorcade and the future of glyphosate