Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support my friend and colleague Senator Mary White in her impassioned plea to the Minister. I had intended proposing an amendment to the Order of Business and I would like to do so in her name and the name of our group. I propose that No. 67, motion No. 16 on the Order Paper, be taken before No. 1 today.

I support those Members of the House who referred to yesterday's disgraceful and anti-democratic scenes outside this House of democracy. Senator Moran is right. I attempted to move my car at 3.30 p.m. and was confronted by a line of gardaí at the front gate. In front of them were at least 40 or 50 anarchists who certainly had no interest whatsoever in democracy and were only concerned about starting a fight. The gardaí, in discharging their duties, attempted to clear a way for my car to make its way out. As Senator Kelly said, I had an appointment that I had to go to - I had no choice - and the car was parked at the front of the House, not the back. The gardaí tried to clear a way in the most diplomatic manner possible. There was no attempt to push or shove people but rather to move them out of the way, yet the gardaí were immediately set upon. iPhones were produced, and there were shouts of abuse and "Shame" because the gardaí were attempting to do their duty in what I thought was a very diplomatic and orderly fashion. People stood in front of the car, totally oblivious to the pleas of the gardaí that they move. I eventually withdrew, reversed back in and took a taxi to my appointment, as I did not really want to put the gardaí under any extra pressure. Subsequently, a garda was injured. There was no question in my mind that if I had persisted and if the gardaí had continued to attempt to allow me out there would have been injuries to the gardaí, and I was not prepared to subject them to that.

We engaged with some of these anarchists a little later on, as Senator Kelly said, and we might as well have been engaging with the wall. One of them actually said, when I put it to him that it was most unlikely that he would be allowed to do what he was doing in any other country, that this was his country and he was entitled to. I said "Yes, you are entitled, but what about the rights of other people?". That was what seemed to be missing yesterday afternoon.

I want to separate what happened in the afternoon from what went on later. I have no doubt there were people who were there legitimately to protest, and they were perfectly entitled to do so. Indeed, a Member of this House who had expressed a particular view earlier in the day was actually one of those on the platform later on. I do not want to be critical of him in any way for taking a party line. It gives an indication of the depth of feeling among all parties and none about what was going on in the earlier part of the afternoon.

I hope the Leader will answer my next question, in light of the fact that the Garda Commissioner will be coming before the other House.Given the Garda and the authorities must have known in advance that there was to be a protest, why were these people allowed to congregate in front of the gates of Leinster House? Why were they not put behind barriers in Molesworth Street which would have prevented much of what happened later? Some weeks ago parents and young children, who came from all parts of Ireland to legitimately protest about child care costs, were corralled behind barriers on Molesworth Street and were not allowed to cross the street.