So much has happened in the last week that it’s difficult to digest it all as yet, but everyone must agree that we are in a different place to where we were seven days ago.

The protests had started on Tuesday as traffic disruptions. Both the action of the protesters and Government rhetoric quickly escalated. By Thursday, ports and the country’s one oil refinery at Whitegate were being blockaded, with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan threatening to involve the army to support the gardaí in dealing with the protests.

It was against this backdrop that the farm organisations with representative recognition, joined by the Farm and Forestry Contractors of Ireland and the Irish Road Hauliers Association sat down with cabinet ministers on Friday morning. Interestingly, the ICSA were not present, I understand due to president Seán McNamara’s presence on the protests.

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It’s fair to say the stakeholder representatives expected a sense of urgency to be shared by all present, and that Government would have some form of package of proposals to present. However, instead of and “oven-ready” deal, what they got was something no more than half-baked.

No proposals were presented on the day. Initially, the plan was to reconvene early this week. However, the stakeholders unanimously insisted that a deal had to be agreed much sooner than that, so talks reconvened on Saturday, and the package that was approved by the Dáil gained cabinet approval on Sunday.

By then, however, the blockades had been lifted around the country. In Foynes and Rosslare that was by agreement and with no confrontation.

In Galway, Cork and Dublin, protesters say they were confronted with the forces of the State in a way that was unnecessary and heavy-handed. It seems to have hardened the attitude of many involved in the protests, and they are ready to resume direct action when they feel the time and issue is appropriate.

Perhaps the biggest question is whether the sequence of events was unfortunate or planned. It is true that there were concerns on Saturday that fuel shortages were being caused by the port blockades. Stories that boats of oil, and indeed of fertiliser, were waiting to unload but couldn’t have been substantiated.

Perhaps Micheál Martin wanted to send a message that illegal protests and blockades don’t work. In this instance, very few believe that message

There were fears they would leave for other countries with their loads.

So the Government can legitimately argue that they had to free the ports up. But could the package have been put to the protests before Saturday nights events? It mightn’t have led to the protests standing down, but the Government could have said they had given the protests full information before breaking the blockades by force.

Perhaps Micheál Martin wanted to send a message that illegal protests and blockades don’t work. In this instance, very few believe that message.