Comment & Analysis: There is not a fucking oil truck moving in this country until we get what we want because if we cant afford it, they cant fucking have it. We have the country by the balls, said one of the spokespeople for the protests last week.Whatever your view is on the fuel protests that gripped Ireland for the last week, the blockades of last week made it clear how vulnerable our oil addiction is and even if some people reading this dont believe in climate change that vulnerability is yet another reason to move away from our oil addiction.With the blocking of fuel terminals at Shannon Foynes Port, the Port of Galway, and Whitegate in Cork Harbour, the protesters really did have the country by the balls. From talking to people and reading comments from people with different views, I think most have underestimated the strength of the protesters grip on the country.Closer to the end of the week, Rosslare Europort was also blocked, although it is not a fuel depot, it would have cut off other supplies and exports. While much focus was on motorway blockages and the very high-profile occupation of OConnell Street, the port blockages were starting to have a greater impact on the country, bringing us to the brink of running out of fuel. This is not about whether you are for or against the protest or their cause. I spotted a number of people who were against the protests claiming that filling stations running out of fuel was down to just people panic buying. Panic buying never helps in these situations, but having a number of our main oil depots shut to supplying filling stations was the main issue. Those involved in the supply of fuel tried to warn about how critical the situation was. What comes across to me is the feeling that people on both sides might be underestimating how close we were to not just oil shortages, rather also the knock-on effect of that including, eventually, food shortages. While Ireland is a massive dairy and beef exporting country, we import a large percentage of fruit, vegetables, cereals, and processed food. We do not feed ourselves you dont have to trust the editor of a cycling and wider transport website on that, Im just echoing what has been said by many, including late last year by the chair of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association. Im not saying we were going to run out of food straight away; we would have seen more fuel rationing and other effects first. And I say more rationing as rationing to some extent happened at the filling station level and was still in effect at least yesterday, if not today, in at least some areas affected by the shortages.Despite the blocked two fuel storage ports and Irelands only oil refinery, theres still a large chunk of the population seemingly unaware of how close the protesters were to shutting down the country. People still living where the fuel was still flowing were in denial that it was an issue because they were not affected yet. Thats the problem with being brought to the brink without fully hitting the wall.Our oil supply vulnerability this time was on the back of the US-Israelwar with Iran, but it is also a reminder of how vulnerable Ireland is to international events. This time it was protests, next time it could be further supply shortages internationally due to the war, terrorism, or possibly a wider war in Europe. We can only insulate ourselves from those events to a certain extent, but we should try to do so as much as possible.Anybody who can now comprehend how vulnerable our fuel supply is should be seeking a move away from it as fast as we can, including a mix of sustainable transport and electrification of cars and other vehicles.Just as with climate transition, there must be fairness. Mostly, wealthier people are getting grants for solar panels to heat their homes and power their electric cars. This is isolating them from the cost of fuel crises even more so than well-off people normally would be this increases the gap between people closer to the circles of power and the average person.The home retrofitting programmes are not reaching enough people, and grants for electric cars are not targeted at the people who most need them.The pattern of development in Ireland means that a chunk of the 30% of people in rural areas are locked into car dependency, along with many in poorly planned urban areas, which are harder to serve with public transport or cycling. Surely, people in those areas who need cars, especially those on lower incomes, should be the main targets for government subsidies for electric cars, while we also stop making the same planning mistakes over and over again?Meanwhile, theres a section of society that has been brainwashed into believing electrification is impossible for various reasons, including cost. The voices they are listening to are telling them all about climate hoax, while a large chunk of people making the switch are doing so because theyll be better off. Even without the misinformation floating around, theres maybe too much focus on changing for the greater good rather than for more selfish reasons. Meanwhile, online grifters tell people its a scam or repeat oil industry talking points rather than telling people that they should have access to these things too.Local authorities providing and promoting other transport options are also sold by many voices as a restriction on freedom, when its clearly the opposite, especially in large urban areas where mass car use has repeatedly been shown to be an unreliable means of transport on its own. Thats the world were living in, where safer streets and concepts such as 15-minute cities having most of your shops and servces close to where you live have been turned into conspiracy theories promputing advocites to come up with slogans such as no big conspiracy just lazy.The change we need, which will help climate action as well as energy and transport independence, requires leadership and vision, and the ability to deliver infrastructure all things we need a lot more of. Last week proved we needed such a change. Will our leaders double down on fossil fuels and make overly car-focused, poor planning mistakes over and over? Will they drag their heels while continuing to make baby steps? Or will they change with the urgency needed?