Opening statement by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee on Policing, Protests and Public Order

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Ceann Comhairle,

I know the thoughts of everyone in the House remain with the victims of the appalling attack that took place last week outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire.

My thoughts are particularly with the young child and her carer who intervened so bravely and who both remain in a critical condition in hospital.

We are all wishing for their full recovery.

We have all hugged our children tighter since last Thursday.

The after school rush is a moment of joy and release.

When children leave their classes full of news of what they have done and what they have learned that day.

That such a peaceful scene should become one of such horror has left us all profoundly shaken.

That we are even thinking about the safety of schoolchildren is a measure of the barbarity of the assault in Dublin last Thursday.

An Garda Siochana are following a definite line of inquiry, and are not looking for anyone else in connection with this brutal crime.

I have no doubt that whoever is responsible will be brought to justice.

And I would also like to commend the emergency services for their swift response and their continued care and treatment for the victims of this attack.

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Ceann Comhairle, we must be clear about what followed.

What we saw was a group of extremists exploiting an appalling incident to wreak havoc.

They disturbed the scene of the previous, shocking crime.

They diverted Garda resources away from investigating and dealing with that crime.

They were joined by opportunistic thugs, vandals and criminals who will be dealt with as such.

There is no excuse for the disgraceful scenes of violence we saw on Thursday evening.

No personal circumstance forces someone to loot; to riot; to assault a member of An Garda Siochana.

To damage business which have been built up over years.

To disturb Gardaí investigating the most shocking of crimes.

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The teachers in Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire.

The after school carers.

Those who bravely intervened.

Our Gardaí who restored law and order.

Our emergency services who worked throughout the night.

Our council workers who cleaned up the city.

Our retail staff preparing for the Christmas rush, working in the shops and streets which give Dublin its unique appeal.

Our business owners who have been left devastated, just as they enter the busiest time of the year.

These are the people who work day in, day out to make our city great.

There is no excuse for trying to tear it down.

And we will not entertain any excuses.

These thugs and criminals will be brought to justice.

And we will do everything we can to ensure what we witnessed on Thursday does not happen again.

Over 400 members of An Garda Síochána, were deployed on patrol in Dublin City Centre, including frontline uniformed Gardaí, and over 250 Public Order Gardaí.

The disturbances were contained in one area of the city, although significant damage was done.

I commend each and every Garda for restoring order to our streets as quickly as they did, and for their ongoing efforts to bring those responsible to justice.

A significant number of arrests have been made, and over 30 people have been before the courts.

An Garda Síochána maintained a high visibility policing plan throughout the weekend, including the deployment of public order units, the dog unit and the mounted unit.

Thankfully, and due to the diligent work of Gardaí, no further scenes of chaos unfolded.

There are of course understandable concerns about safety in the city, but I want to reassure people that order has been restored and maintained since Thursday.

The high visibility Garda presence on the streets is being maintained and will be maintained - including four public order units - in Dublin for the foreseeable future.

Commissioner Harris and the frontline Gardaí have my full support and confidence.

Over the weekend I visited Garda stations in the City and in the control centre at Heuston Station. I thanked Gardaí and Garda staff for their work.

And I made clear that I, as Minister for Justice, the government as a whole, and society, fully supports them.

Gardaí are working through thousands of hours of CCTV footage to gather evidence to bring those responsible to justice.

That they must use hundreds of manpower hours to do so merely highlights the need for us to give Gardaí all the technology they need.

To those who say An Garda Siochana should have seen this coming, I say that very few could have predicted the circumstances which led to Thursday’s riot.

A group of extremists cynically used an appalling incident as a spark for a hate fuelled rampage.

As the Commissioner has said, Thursday night’s operations will be revised and lessons learned if necessary.

That is as it should be after every significant event.

Last week, the Garda Commissioner also assured all Gardaí of his support if they are required to use force and equipment to protect themselves as appropriate.

I fully support our frontline Gardaí in the job they do - and I want to provide more reassurance.

I have asked the Policing Authority to see how we can further support An Garda Síochána dealing with public order incidents.

This will include the equipment they need, such as non-lethal equipment, stronger vehicles, resources, the use of the dog unit, training and powers - including the use of force where necessary.

No Garda should have to look over their shoulder or second guess themselves in circumstances where the use of force is warranted and necessary.

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Ceann Comhairle, I have consistently acknowledged that people have genuine concerns about feelings of safety in areas of our city.

Dublin is a great city.

But I have been working hard to improve safety in our city centre in particular.

I have listened to local communities; to businesses and community groups; to local representatives; and to women.

We have invested significant additional resources into Dublin City Centre.

We have opened two new Garda stations in the north City Centre - on O’Connell Street and Fitzgibbon Street.

Operation Citizen was launched to provide a highly visible policing presence.

Earlier this year, I announced a €10 million overtime fund for high visibility policing.

As we gain momentum in Garda recruitment, we are sending more new Gardaí to the city.

Out of the 227 newly graduated Gardaí so far this year, 165 have been sent to Dublin.

Since 2015 - when the first Gardaí graduated after the college was closed due to the economic crash - the number of Gardaí in the Dublin Metropolitan Region has increased from 3,491 to 3,742.

Through successful Garda operations to tackle organised crime, the number of murders carried out by organised crime groups have fallen substantially.

I established a new Community Safety Partnership in the north inner city to bring everyone around the table - businesses, Dublin City Council, education providers and others - to improve safety.

This approach recognises that safety is not just about policing alone.

It is one of the first in its kind in the country, ahead of a national rollout of these partnerships next year.

Our Garda reforms have allowed us establish dedicated Community Policing Teams which are operating in the city centre - building on that already strong link Gardaí have with their communities.

We can and, of course, will do more.

I have listened to retailers not just in Dublin, but also in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Meath.

I know the difficulties they face dealing with repeat offenders who steal from their shops without regard for law or livelihoods.

I will be announcing further measures to deal with this in the coming days.

I have also asked the Commissioner to examine what further we can do to improve high visibility policing in Dublin as we build momentum in Garda recruitment.

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There is no avoiding the fact that the forced closure of the Garda College during COVID-19 impacted progress on recruitment.

The reality is that we would have 1,000 extra Gardaí on our streets if we did not have to close the college.

However, by the end of the year, between 700 and 800 new recruits will have entered the College in 2023.

5,000 people applied to be Gardaí in our last campaign, showing that interest in becoming a Garda is as strong as ever.

We have budgeted for between 800 and 1,000 new Gardaí next year and a new recruitment campaign will open within weeks.

A new recruitment campaign for the Garda Reserve will take place in early 2024 – the first such recruitment campaign since 2017.

There are currently just under 14,000 Gardaí across the country. Of course, like everyone in the House, I want to see more.

I am confident that, by the end of next year, we will have a significantly stronger Garda force.

I am also working to resolve outstanding Industrial Relations issues which I hope will help serving Garda.

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The Garda Budget is a record €2.3 billion in 2024 - this is a 23 per cent increase since I became Minister in 2020.

Of course we can do more, but it is simply not true to suggest that the government is not resourcing our Garda.

Almost every Garda now has real-time access to a series of apps, eliminating paperwork and allowing them to carry out their frontline duties far more efficiently.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) in Garda vehicles will allow for real-time identification of vehicles.

There are currently 3,467 vehicles in the Garda fleet, up 11 per cent since 2020 – the largest fleet of cars and vans ever available – and we are adding to that.

The rollout of body worn cameras and the expansion of community CCTV will be facilitated by the passage of legislation through this House tomorrow.

We were already due to begin rolling out Bodycams for Gardaí from next summer, and I have asked the Commissioner to examine if the process can be accelerated.

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I have also passed tough new laws.

I have:

• doubled the maximum sentence for assault causing harm to 10 years
• increased the sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life
• increased the sentence for assaulting a Garda or emergency worker from 7 to 12 years
• passed laws to improve post release supervision of sex offenders and to provide for electronic tagging
• allowed access to certain communications data to protect national security and tackle serious crime
• passed laws to provide stronger Garda powers for seizure of scramblers

And I have been working on new laws to:

• introduce facial recognition technology
• criminalise adults who groom children into a life of crime
• update our laws on incitement to hatred and hate crime

I have a plan to deliver 400 more prison spaces for 620 prisoners.

This year, I appointed 24 new judges to speed up our courts - the biggest ever increase in judicial resource.

These are all key elements of my agenda to build stronger, safer communities.

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Ceann Comhairle,

Some extremists responsible for last week’s riots claim to speak for the Irish people.

They claim to want to speak honestly about immigration.

Their ignorance blinds them to the fact that our country, once a nation of emigrants, is enriched by many who come here to build a better life.

Those who work in our health and emergency services - those who bravely intervened to help schoolchildren last week - represent the best of Irish values.

But I can do more. We can all do more.

To talk about the contributions migrants make to our economy, our society and our culture.

Yes, we must have a fair and efficient immigration system.

One where people can come and contribute; or can come and seek protection.

And one where people who do not have a right to be here are asked to leave.

But this chamber is where we democratically debate those issues.

We cannot cede to the manipulative thugs who wreaked havoc last week.

Social media companies must also ensure that they behave in a proactive and socially responsible manner.

It is not good enough for social media platforms to fail to tackle hateful content.

It has been a difficult few days.

The victims of the appalling stabbing incident remain in our thoughts.

And I want to reassure the House once more that those who contributed to and instigated Thursday’s night’s events have been and will be arrested and brought to justice.

Thank you.