Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I was speaking about the reportage of the so-called Operation Mizen within the Garda surveillance of anti-water-charge protestors. The issue seemed so serious to us, as the Anti-Austerity Alliance, that in the context of the Dáil not sitting, we wrote to the Minister for Justice and Equality to ask a number of questions. For example, we asked if she was aware that the Garda unit was in operation or if she was consulted about its foundation or operation. We asked if a report was made to the Minister or the Department by the Garda Commissioner or any authorities in the Garda on the operation of the unit; how many individuals - including public representatives at council or Dáil level - were the subject of surveillance, and if they were, whether they would be named; and other questions seeking an answer, because we felt them to be of fundamental public interest, particularly as the Dáil was not sitting. We received a response from the Minister but it was a one-line reply that acknowledged receipt of the letter. There is a clear public interest in knowing what is happening in terms of surveillance of anti-austerity or anti-water-charge protestors, and the Minister should detail what she is aware of.

Political policing is the rule rather than the exception. That is not in the sense that policing of a traffic light or a traffic offence amounts to political policing but, rather, that when movements develop which threaten the interests of the capitalist class in the country or when the interests of the State are perceived to be challenged, gardaí, against their own wishes in many circumstances, are used to enforce the interests and wishes of the 1%, as opposed to the 99%. The examples are legion, including the kind of policing that happened around the Shell to Sea campaign, the Rossport five, Ms Maura Harrington, the 23 jailed bin charge protestors and the role of policing around the bin charges movement. There was also the arrest and jailing of Margaretta D'Arcy. The examples go on and include many industrial disputes, particularly in the building industry.

It is not a revelation that this exists, but the fact that it is laid bare is an indication of how the interests are challenged. This fundamentally relates to the role of mass civil disobedience, and particularly the mass non-payment of water charges and how that has shocked and rocked the establishment, broadly speaking, with the result of such blatant political policing. This is precisely what should be dealt with and it is part and parcel of a struggle to transform our society and take power economically, for example, out of the hands of the 1%. We also need a different kind of State and, as part of that, a different kind of police force. It should be democratically accountable to the communities it is meant to serve. On one hand, it requires on the national level a genuinely independent and authoritative policing authority, but it also requires, at a local level, real community control of gardaí. That would amount to Garda resources being used in the interests of communities, as opposed to how they are unfortunately sometimes used, which is against the interests of those communities.

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