Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising the question. I very much appreciate the fact that he referenced the challenging situation gardaí can find themselves in. I want to take this opportunity to thank members of An Garda Síochána. There have been well over 125 anti-immigration protests in the city alone. Gardaí have been working in very challenging environments and I want to thank them for that.

I would like to condemn in the strongest possible way any incident or threat of violence against vulnerable people in our society. The burning of tents belonging to refugees in Dublin city centre recently was utterly unacceptable, reprehensible and vile. It will be fully investigated by members of An Garda Síochána. A live investigation is under way.

I have met the Garda Commissioner to discuss this incident. I meet him on a regular basis to discuss this issue and I am confident that a policing plan is in place. The Commissioner has assured me that he has what he terms "operational integrity" and the resources to police this situation. Of course, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for operational policing matters. I have been assured that the policing approach to protests is predicated on a number of principles, namely, keeping people safe, preventing any antisocial or criminal behaviour and traffic management, where appropriate.

While people of course have the right to protest and that right must be respected, nobody has a right to do that in a way that causes others to fear for their safety or threatens public order. If and when that line between protesting and threatening or intimidating behaviour is crossed, there are a number of provisions in our laws that apply.

We are also strengthening our legislation in this area with our Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Amendment) Bill, which we hope to enact later this year. The Bill will repeal the prohibition of incitement to hatred and replace it with new offences of "incitement to violence or hatred". It will also provide for specific hate crime offences for the first time in Irish law.

The message should be clear from this House to anybody who engages in threatening behaviour, that such behaviour can constitute an offence. The offence can have serious consequences. A number of people have been arrested and are being prosecuted. One's right to protest will be respected, but one has no right to break the law. If one endeavours to break the law, one will be met with its full rigours.

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