New Delhi, April 16 -- The Irish government survived a confidence vote Tuesday over how it handled a week of disruptive fuel protests that blocked access to oil supplies, caused gas pumps to run dry and created massive traffic jams.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin defended his coalition government by saying it had acted to end the "destructive blockade which threatened to cause much deeper damage."

The 92-78 vote in support of the government preserved his leadership. If the confidence vote failed, his government would have been forced to resign and Parliament would have either elected a new prime minister or called a general election.

Protests began April 7 with slow-moving convoys clogging roadways. They grew as word spread on soc...