Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

On Saturday, we saw a violent anti-lockdown protest on the streets of Dublin. This protest had the far right at its core, exploiting the widespread frustration people feel about lockdown and the failure of the Government to give people hope in its strategy to eliminate the virus. The far right tried to tap into people's real anxieties and fears. In reality, those groups want to see an end to democratic rights, the smashing of trade unions and brutal oppression of women, LGBTQ people, migrants, Travellers and others.

What was the response of the establishment in this State? The Garda Commissioner incredibly and falsely claimed that both the far right and far left were involved, which was a gift to the misinformation campaigns of the far right. When he was forced to retract that claim, he still wrongly maintained that there had been initial indications that the far left had been involved. The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, stated that it was important not to get caught up in who was involved. Does the Government agree that it is important to call out the responsibility of the far right and that the Garda Commissioner made a major mistake in confusing matters?

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