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

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on the dreadful events that occurred in Dublin last week - the stabbing of a woman and several schoolchildren, the far-right protest that followed, and then the riot, looting and criminal damage. We are all still coming to terms with what happened, what it means and how we might respond further. The Government and the Garda are already working on it, but we are also keen to hear feedback from the community, from colleagues here in the House, and from elsewhere.

As the House knows, our country experienced two attacks last Thursday. The first was an attack on innocent children and their care worker outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in Dublin’s city centre. It was an unthinkable act of violence, and my thoughts are with the injured children, their heroic care worker and all those who stepped in and risked their lives. As I said last week, these are all real Irish heroes, whatever their nationality. On Sunday night, I had the opportunity to meet four of them from Ireland, Brazil and France.

What transpired shortly afterwards was an attack on our society and on the rule of law. Gabhaim buíochas leis na gardaí agus leis na hoibrithe túslíne go léir as a bhfreagra misniúil ar imeachtaí na seachtaine seo caite. Mar Rialtas, beimid gan staonadh ó thaobh ár saoránaigh agus ár ndaoine a chosaint. Beidh na gardaí ar na sráideanna agus déanfaidh siad aon rud atá ag teastáil ionas go mothóidh daoine sábháilte. Agus déanfaimid cinnte go bhfuil na hacmhainní, an trealamh agus na dlíthe acu a theastaíonn chun a gcuid oibre a dhéanamh. My thanks to the gardaí and all the front-line workers for their courageous response to last week’s events and to the council workers and transport workers who were also affected and carried out the clean-up. I offer my solidarity to the workers in retail and other establishments in the area, many of whom were detained for a period of time against their will.

As a Government, we will be relentless in protecting our citizens and defending our people. Gardaí will be on the streets and will do whatever it takes to make people feel safe, and we will make sure that they have the resources, the equipment and the laws needed to do their job.

The riots on Thursday evening were shocking to us. They are not something we are used to in Ireland and not something we want to get used to and see normalised or repeated. We have to ensure that what happened on Thursday were exceptional events. We need to work ensure they never happen again. It is also important, though, to take a step back and consider the fact that, in response to a rapidly evolving situation, gardaí regained control of the streets within hours and prevented the riots from spreading beyond a confined area of the city. Over 400 members of An Garda Síochána were deployed in Dublin city centre, including over 220 public order gardaí, and 34 people were immediately arrested. An Garda Síochána has been maintaining a strong presence in the area since then, including a significant public order capacity involving dog and mounted units. Water cannon are available, if needed.

My thanks to all members of An Garda Síochána for their rapid response in difficult circumstances, particularly those who answered the call from other parts of the country. They should be commended for their response, not criticised. Policing such events is unpredictable and high risk by its nature. To the best of my knowledge, none of us in this House have much expertise of policing or riot policing. This is the reason An Garda Síochána has operational control over such matters. That is not to say that we cannot learn from what happened. The political system has an important role to play at national and local levels, and that role continues. It must be about much more than calling for heads to roll.

I have been in regular contact with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Garda Commissioner since last Thursday. I have committed, as Taoiseach, that the full weight of the State will be available in how we respond. Deputy McEntee has shown how much work she can get done as Minister for Justice, and she will be doing plenty more.

We have opened two new Garda stations in Dublin city centre - on O'Connell Street and Fitzgibbon Street - as well as a new Garda station in Dublin Port. The Garda budget is now at its highest ever - 23% higher than in 2020 when this Government came to office, standing now at €2.3 billion. Interest in joining An Garda Síochána is strong and encouraging, with between 700 and 800 new recruits entering the Garda College this year. The Opposition would like us to forget that Covid led to the closure of the Garda Training College and that we are recovering and catching up from that. Garda numbers are recovering. We expect them to stabilise this year at around 14,000 and rise again next year to about 14,500 by the end of the year. We also have over 3,000 Garda staff, which frees up sworn members for duties. We have increased the Garda training allowance by two thirds and increased the age of entry from 35 to 50 years. The retirement age will also be increased so that we can hold onto experienced officers. The Garda fleet now stands at around 3,500, up over 10% since this Government came to office, with more than 100 new vehicles on order.

When it comes to stronger laws, the Minister has doubled the maximum sentence for assault causing harm to ten years, increased the sentence for conspiracy to murder from ten years to life and increased the sentence for assaulting a garda or emergency worker from seven years to 12 years. We will also streamline community CCTV and allow for the introduction of body-worn cameras, modernise our laws on hate crimes and incitement to hatred, introduce facial and object recognition technology and propose extending the range of offences in respect of which that technology may be used to include the offences of riot and violent disorder in a stand-alone Bill so that there is proper scrutiny.

It does not surprise me that Members of this House have called for resignations, but I do not think that is the right approach. In fact, in many ways, those who conducted the riot and damaged our city last Thursday will see it as a victory. It may even embolden them. Interfering in who gets appointed to or removed from positions such as the Garda Commissioner should not be taken lightly. It should not be taken as the normal cut and thrust of politics. It has consequences and it can be corrosive to the wider justice system and public safety. In the past few weeks, we have seen the resignation of the Chief Constable in Northern Ireland. Here in this Chamber, we have seen justice Ministers have their reputations destroyed, with the Chamber and Opposition acting as judge, jury and executioner, only for those justice Ministers to be vindicated at a later date. I do not believe that should happen again.

We know that we need to do more to make sure that people feel safer in Dublin’s inner city. We know that we have not got everything right and that a lot more needs to be done. We know that the work that is now well under way in terms of extra gardaí, better equipment and stronger laws needs to be accelerated. I will make sure that there is leadership from my office in that regard.

Above all, I believe that this is a time to support An Garda Síochána, support the Commissioner and support the Minister for Justice. It is a time to work together on behalf of the people who elected us. I do not believe it is in their interests to sow division.

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