Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

Emergency medical personnel from the ambulance service were also deployed as part of the public order unit.

A threat assessment was made based on the available intelligence, including information sought from the PSNI and the long experience of Garda officers based in city centre stations in dealing with protest marches over their careers. As anticipated, around 50 Republican Sinn Féin protestors congregated at the top of O'Connell Street to protest and attempt to disrupt the march. However — this was the really unexpected element — around 200 to 300 other people suddenly massed, many from streets and public houses close by, and began to attack Garda officers with a range of missiles, including billiard balls, fireworks and smoke bombs. In the course of the rioting that followed, two petrol bombs were hurled at the gardaí. As the situation developed, a further 138 Garda officers arrived to assist, including a group of 47 members drawn from the public order unit. The decision was taken by senior gardaí on the ground that the march down O'Connell Street to Dáil Éireann would not go ahead. I commend without hesitation what was clearly the correct decision, quickly taken in difficult circumstances by senior gardaí on the spot. Arrangements were made to move the loyalist demonstrators to the environs of Leinster House. Buses transported them here without incident where they had their march with their bands and they made their speeches. They caused offence to nobody.

I have shared with the House the gist of the Commissioner's report on the outrageous behaviour of last Saturday. Given the gravity of this situation and in order to be as expansive as possible, I have taken the unusual step of providing a synopsis of that report to Members. The Garda authorities are conducting a complete, painstaking and forensic analysis of all the evidence and material available to them. The evidence will be assembled and those responsible for the appalling behaviour on Dublin's streets last weekend will be pursued. They will face the full rigours of the law. I appeal to eyewitnesses to come forward to the Garda Síochána and to anyone with evidence, photographs or video material of the disturbances to hand it over to the Garda for examination. It is the constitutional duty of all citizens to co-operate with the Garda in its efforts to bring the perpetrators to book. I am confident the ordinary decent citizens of Dublin, who are angered by the activities of a small few, will co-operate fully with this investigation.

This was an attack on civil society, on civil liberty and on the very nature of a republic. Those who engaged in the wanton and mindless violence last weekend carry no mandate and their actions cannot be justified. There was no provocation. There was no behaviour by the organisers of the march to warrant what developed. The civil authorities were prepared to allow protestors stage a counter demonstration, as was their entitlement in a free society. No difficulty would have arisen from that counter demonstration on the scale anticipated by the Garda. I am sure that arising from the Garda experience, valuable lessons will be learned about the capacity of people to come from nowhere, as it were, to set upon innocent people. If the Garda had waited for the parade to start, a much more serious situation might easily have occurred.

The authorities will cooperate with the Health and Safety Authority in any follow up appropriate to that organisation's role and competence, as is the norm in such situations. However, it must be recognised that policing decisions must be taken by Garda management in the context of the best information available and the evolving situation. Deputy Kenny made the point, in his remarks to the Taoiseach earlier, that I am politically accountable for this. I accept my political accountability, but I ask the Deputy to accept that I had no hand, act or part in the arrangements that were made for that day.

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