James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Good afternoon all. We have received apologies from Deputy Ward. Deputy O'Reilly will be joining as his substitute.

Members should ensure their phones are on silent or airplane mode so as not to interfere with the sound system. I welcome Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. He is joined by Deputy Commissioner Anne Marie McMahon and Assistant Commissioner Cliona Richardson. They are all very welcome to the committee.

The purpose of our session is principally to consider the events of last Thursday night in the city centre. It follows on from other meetings we have been having on the same theme. As members will be aware, we have recently held meetings on policing matters in the city centre, protests by the far right and similar topics. This is a continuation of that theme, albeit an unexpected addition to our programme. I acknowledge that the Commissioner was with the committee very recently to discuss those topics. I thank him for that engagement with the committee. We did not expect to have him back so soon, and I am sure he did not expect it either, but we are where we are. Sometimes events overtake us.

It is in all our interests that the Commissioner and the men and women who serve under him in An Garda Síochána succeed in restoring law and order, justice, normality and stability to the streets of Dublin and around the country. We all agree that the events which took place last Thursday were absolutely shocking. I was in the city centre at the time, as I am sure many of the members present were, and I saw some of what occurred. It was a horrendous, frightening experience for anybody who was anywhere near them. It was much more than frightening, unfortunately, for many businesses, individuals and residents who were caught up in them, as indeed it was for members of the Garda.

I express my sympathy to those who were injured or affected by the terrible event that took place in the early afternoon of the day in question at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square. It was a horrific attack that was shocking to every one of us. I know some victims of the attack remain in hospital and I am very mindful of that. Our thoughts are with them. Unfortunately, that event was then used as a justification by thugs to rile up division, hatred, racism, chaos and anarchy on the streets of Dublin, with no regard for the victims of the attack or anyone else who crossed their path. This was demonstrated by the fact that the crime scene itself was contaminated by what happened.

Appearing before this committee is about accountability but it is also about support. I encourage the Commissioner and his colleagues to tell members, for better or worse, what we need to know about what happened on Thursday, what happened before and has happened since, and what needs to happen next. We can only help them if they help us. Engagement and frankness are very important to the committee. We know that members of the force responded with bravery and professionalism and did everything within their power to quell the violence, but questions have been asked about their ability to do that. There has been much commentary about the confidence members of the force had in engaging as well as knowing how to respond, whether they could use force or reasonable force and what the appropriate response was in a public order situation. Many Garda members appear to have experienced this for the first time. While I commend the professionalism of Templemore Garda Training College, which members visited recently, it has been suggested that many gardaí had not undergone public order training and were not prepared on the night in question.

Another concern that occurs to me and many members of the committee is that this was apparently an unexpected, surprise attack. Based on my own loose count, this is the fourth similar incident in Dublin city centre in the past 18 months. During the pandemic, we had an incident on South William Street, albeit involving antisocial behaviour, when hooligans in a mob who were drinking on the streets engaged in a form of mini-riot. We also had an incident on Sandwith Street, off Pearse Street, where tents were burned during the summer and factions engaged in another mini-riot, if not a full-blown riot. Then we had the protest outside the Dáil. According to my reckoning, this is the fourth such incident and that concerns me greatly.

I am curious to understand the extent to which this incident could or should have been anticipated and what counterintelligence was being deployed ahead of it. Trends were apparent on social media well ahead of the night's events breaking out.

This is something on which I am sure the committee will engage with the Commissioner in some detail.

Many questions will arise, not least with regard to the co-ordination between emergency services on the night and between members of the force. There is a suggestion that members were volunteering by WhatsApp messages to each other and presenting themselves at stations and coming into town. What degree of command and control was in place centrally? What degree of control was in place in other agencies? Young people were at a concert in the 3Arena and they had no way to get home. There were no Luas or bus services running in or out of town. I am told it was like 11 September on the streets, with hundreds and thousands of people walking out of the city centre trying to avoid the riots along the way. Members of my family were among them. We never want this to happen again. This sets the context for the engagement today. Members will have many questions as we proceed. It is very important for all of us, and I am sure the Commissioner will entirely agree, that we get this right and we prevent it from happening again.

The Commissioner has come before the committee a number of times and is very familiar with parliamentary privilege, which dictates that witnesses do not make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable, or to engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging or defamatory to a person's good name. This also applies to members. We have a number of visiting Members who are not committee members and they are very welcome. The best practices with regard to not referring to Members or organisations outside the room apply. We have a rota system for questions as the Commissioner and committee members are aware. I will take members of the committee first and then visiting members.