Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will come back on the other questions because you have raised points around the Policing Authority and Twitter. Very soon after the riots on the Thursday night, I met members of An Garda Síochána in a number of stations across the city. I was in Pearse Street, Store Street, Bridewell and Heuston Station where gardaí monitor a lot of CCTV footage. What was said very clearly to me and the Taoiseach by members who had responded to the riots on the Thursday was that they had not had as positive an engagement with one particular social media platform as they wanted. That is what I have relayed.

I have had an initial report of what happened on the day but I have also asked the Commissioner for a broader report. Once I receive that, I will engage with those companies. I have reflected clearly, and the Taoiseach was clear as well, what was said directly to us by Garda members who were working on the ground. I am not going to contradict what they said to me. I will get a report from the Commissioner, but I am engaging with Garda members and that is exactly what they said and what I repeated. We can all see there was information on all social media platforms, but it is important to understand how companies engaged. Obviously, Coimisiún na Meán is there to do so as well. When issues are raised directly with me by Garda members, however, I want to respond and be able to support them in their work.

Before I wrote to the Policing Authority or said anything publicly about this, I engaged with it and made clear what I would be asking of it. The wording I have put into this is in line with the codes of conduct Garda members have. I asked whether the authority could advise me, having regard to the changed environment post Covid along with the growth of social media, as to what else might enhance policing performance and support Garda members in the exercise of their lawful powers in circumstances such as arose on the Thursday. Garda members' lawful powers include the use of force, and I have not asked the Policing Authority to outline exactly when Garda members should use force or how they should use force, nor to look at their training given they have very clear training in Templemore, nor to look at their codes of conduct, which are clear. I have asked it to confirm, essentially, that Garda members can use their powers. When I met Garda members a day or two after the riots, they said directly to me that some of them do not feel comfortable in using those powers, even when they face situations like they did on the Thursday.

The Garda Commissioner, in response, wrote to all members saying they had his full support to use force where necessary and appropriate in line with their training. Obviously, I do not have any role in this but I said we support them and trust their judgment in responding to these scenarios. Many Garda members will never have to use force and that is a positive thing. What I was asking the authority to do, and I am happy to clarify this if there is a misunderstanding, was to reiterate that and support Garda members in fulfilling their policing powers, obligations and ability to respond in the way they have been trained. That was what was asked of the authority and directed to it before the letter was even written. I was not aware there was a misunderstanding or a different interpretation of what I was saying. I have great respect for the chairperson of the authority and have worked very well, as we all have, with him over recent years, but that is what I asked and said clearly in public. There should be no misunderstanding of what I was asking, and that is clear in the letter.