Mary Lou McDonald accuses Government of 'brazen arse-covering' after Dublin riots
Barriers outside Leinster House this morning. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
Additional gardaí will be on the streets of Dublin in the build-up to Christmas in a bid to avoid a repeat of last week's the Taoiseach has told the Dáil as the government was accused of "brazen arse covering" over last week's riots.
Vehicles including a Luas tram, two double-decker buses, and a number garda vehicles were set on fire as gardaí from the public order unit clashed with rioters who took to to the streets of the capital after the stabbing of three young children and a woman outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square last Thursday afternoon.
Opening the debate on policing and public order, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the stabbing and the "far-right protest" that followed was "an attack on our city and society".
He praised the garda response and said those who intervened to stop the stabbing, saying he had met with four of the six who had stepped in.
He said that gardaí would be on the streets in the build up to Christmas in a bid to ensure that what happened last week were "exceptional scenes".
However, he said that the policing response had seen the riot contained in quick order. He said that guards are on the street and water cannon are available to gardaí if needed.
However, he said that the discussion must be "about more than asking for heads to roll" and praised the Justice Minister Helen McEntee for her work and said that gardaí had more money available than ever and would have between 700-800 new recruits this year. He said that the Dáil chamber could not act as "judge and jury" on Ms McEntee's career.
“Minister McEntee has seen how much work she can get done as minister for justice and she’ll be doing plenty more," he said.
Ms Varadkar said such actions had "consequences" and could be "be corrosive to the wider justice system and public safety."
Earlier during Leaders' Questions, Mr Varadkar confirmed that four Garda public order units will be deployed in Dublin city centre from now and at least until Christmas.
"They are made up of two inspectors, six sergeants and 42 gardaí, so there will be a visible Garda presence on our streets in the coming weeks."
He added: "Above all we need to have three things. We need more gardaí, better equipment for our gardaí and stronger laws and more prison places.
"The process for getting all those things is very much under way and was under way before the events of last Thursday, but it needs to be accelerated."
"We now have 14,000 gardaí. Approximately 700 or 800 will go through training this year and approximately 800 to 1,000 next year. We expect Garda numbers to rise to 14,500 by the end of next year.
"In addition, more than 3,000 civilian staff free up gardaí to do front-line work. We have more than 3,000 garda vehicles - 150 more are on order - we have riot gear for 2,500 gardaí, water cannons are on loan and body cameras will soon be on the way. We also need to strengthen our laws."
During her statement, Ms McEntee said that her thoughts are with the five-year-old child and her carer who both remain in a critical condition in hospital. She said that such a "happy scene could become one of horror" has "shaken" the nation.
However, she said that the riots that followed was a "group of extremists seeking to cause havoc" and said that these protesters were joined by "opportunistic thugs" who would be "treated as such" by the justice system. A group of extremists had used a tragedy to "sow hate", Ms McEntee told the Dáil.
She said that there have been "significant arrests" and that over 30 people have been before the courts meaning that "no further scenes of chaos" have been witnessed. She said that order "will be maintained" through the public order units. She confirmed that she has asked the Policing Authority to examine the use of force and equipment available to gardaí.
Ms McEntee acknowledged that some people don't feel safe on the streets of the capital and that more needs to be done to make Dublin more secure. She said that the number of gardaí in Dublin had grown in recent years. She said that social media companies "need to do more".
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said that the "decency" of Dublin was on the line in the current atmosphere. He said that Dublin could not lose its sense of respect and decency. Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien said that what happened last week was "an absolute disgrace". He said that it was "violent thuggery" who "don't represent Dublin" and were "the lowest of the low". He said, however, that they were met with "the best of the best" in the gardaí, Dublin Fire Brigade, National Ambulance Service, Dublin Bus workers and taxi drivers.
"Dublin is a unique city...it is a special place," he said.
However, he said that Sinn Féin had "reverted to form" in sowing "discord and division" by calling for Ms McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to both resign.
In response, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald, a TD for the area affected last week, said that she was "actually on the scene" unlike government ministers in the benches early on. She said that there was a "malicious cabal" of people who had been mobilised.
"All of the people I spoke with had the same thing to say - they all saw it coming.
"The only people who didn't see it coming were those in charge. The Government, the garda leadership."
She said that politicians did not need to remind the public of the bravery of gardaí, but that those in government had "let the country down".
She said that it was possible to walk from Heuston Station to Leinster House before seeing a single uniformed garda.
She accused the Government of "brazen arse-covering" in the aftermath of the incidents last week.
"What we witnessed was a political failure. A wholesale, abject failure."
Ms McDonald said that her party had “zero confidence” in the Minister for Justice, the Government and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
The tweets of Conor McGregor also came in for some discussion at this afternoon's debate, as Sinn Féin's Paul Donnelly referred to the MMA fighter as a "celebrity thug" and Labour's Áodhán O Riordán called him "a gobdaw".
Later in his remarks, Mr O Riordán also accused the Government and the Justice Minister of not understanding parts of Dublin and not understanding the extent threat posed by the far-right. This, he said, was evidenced by an an ineffective response to the far-right protests seen outside Leinster House in September.
"You cannot say that this wasn't coming," he said.
"You need to wake up and realise that this threat is not going away.
“You don’t get Dublin, the garda force is falling apart, the far right are buoyant, and you need to take responsibility for that.”
In her remarks, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said the country was still "reeling" from the events of last Thursday.
She said that, almost immediately after the knife attack on Parnell Square, "Irish far-right agitators began to spread their venom through social media."
"They stoked up discrimination, fear and tensions in a despicable attempt to blame our migrant population for the attack."
Ms Cairns said that these individuals had "placed a target on the back of 20% of our population."
She said that an "air of intimidation" was now "pervasive" in Dublin city with people feeling "unsafe and uneasy."
She went on to say that the Garda Commissioner's "hands off approach to the far right has resulted in an escalation in violence."
"Garda Management team has been let down by this government, whose promises of better resources and more recruitment haven't materialised," she said.
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