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

It was a very volatile situation. Nobody could have predicted that schoolchildren would have been stabbed on our streets. I am sorry, but nobody would have woken up that Thursday and said that was going to happen. That was an awful tragedy. I spoke to the Garda Commissioner throughout the day. They were concerned about the potential for trouble. There is a large number of direct provision centres and accommodation in the area. We had to make sure those people were protected. A huge amount of work was done. We should not focus only on what happened in the riots. We should also be looking at the fact that multiple teams of gardaí worked with people in centres to make sure they were protected. The gardaí also worked with businesses, getting people to safety from their workplaces. There was a huge operation under way, separate from the work of the hundreds with public order unit gear. There was a massive mobilisation of gardaí from all over the country. This was really heartening to see, but of course there will always be lessons to be learned as to how we can respond differently.

Regarding the far right, arrests have been made. I am sure there will be further arrests, not just related to that day, but beyond. If there is more we need to do, we will do it. One element of this is to make sure we have legislation on incitement to hatred that is fit for purpose. What we have at present is not, which is why we have legislation going through the Seanad.