Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

My main question refers back to the issue of the right to protest. However, I wish to say in passing that we should be careful about the use of the term "common sense". The great Italian Marxist intellectual, Antonio Gramsci, pointed out that there is a big difference between good sense and common sense. It was common sense at one time that the world was flat but good sense said it was round. We should be very cautious because many common sense truths turn out to be not very good sense when one looks beneath the surface or applies scientific or intellectual rigour. In addition, while any institution, judiciary or otherwise might strive for independence, to simply assert its independence is not helping to uphold its credibility because an intellectual examination of that assertion would say no human being is fully independent or insulated from social, economic or other influences.

My main question seeks clarification of what I have heard from Dr. Kenny, the Law Society or anybody else who wishes to comment. Does the Government legally have the right to prevent protests at present? I stress that any protest that occurs should be socially distant and people should wear masks. As well as the legal position on that, given the constitutional freedom of assembly and so forth and given that the witnesses say it is very important that the Dáil and its committees function and that the Judiciary functions in this situation, how important do they think it is that the right to freedom of assembly to protest and so forth be protected in this context, albeit with adherence to social distancing guidelines?