Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. Deputy Dillon asked about examining the Children Act. I am not aware of any plans to do so, but I will come back to him on that. However, the fact that we treat juveniles differently in the criminal justice system is not a bad thing, and it does not mean juveniles are immune from the law. They are accountable for their actions. That is why we have antisocial behaviour orders and the juvenile diversion programme. It is why we have Oberstown if detention is needed.

Deputy Barry again asked me to interpret the words of the Garda Commissioner. I am not able to interpret his words for him, or for anyone. He was probably referring to how the situation developed on the day, and not the fact it could not have happened. We have all been aware of violent protests in many places in the city, including on the outskirts of the city, and we know what the potential is. Last Thursday, I spoke at a business lunch and was back in the office that afternoon as news was coming through of the terrible stabbings in Parnell Square. The moment I heard it being reported that the assailant was an Algerian national, I was concerned there would be big trouble. I was in touch with the Minister for Justice about the matter within moments. Putting that information about was extremely irresponsible. We now know that some of the victims come from a migrant background. We know many of the people who intervened to save lives and stop it being worse are of a migrant background. While the current suspect is of a migrant background, he has spent more than 20 years in the country. He is an Irish citizen and is not known to the Department of Social Protection.

The more we find out about it, the harder it is to understand exactly what happened, but we need to find out what did and why.

Regarding Deputy O'Sullivan's question on the use of force, we ask gardaí to use all necessary force to do their job and also to protect themselves, which is also important. What none of us wants is the use of excessive force. For gardaí, it must be hard to get it right. How much force is the right amount of force to use and how does one make that decision in a rapidly developing situation when one does not necessarily know what is going on behind one or what is going on in other places? We have to make sure that they have the best equipment to protect themselves. Bodycams are a big part of that. The Minister for Justice's reform programme includes the latter. I hope we can have them very soon. CCTV is part of it as well. We have to make sure that they have the best possible training as well and that, if they do use necessary force, they are supported by Garda management and the Government. They will be, but I do not want anyone to get this wrong. If excessive force had been used - thankfully, it was not - we would probably be having a different conversation today.

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