Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

In Carlow, councillors had to leave their cars, in many cases overnight, because of the activities of protestors, some of whom are either directly attached or purport to be attached to Members of the other House. That is absolutely disgraceful and cannot be allowed to go on. In the context of the forthcoming inquiry into the incidents that took place outside the Oireachtas last week, will the Leader bring the matter I have raised to the attention of the Minister for Justice and Equality and also the Garda Commissioner? We have a situation where councillors, elected public representatives working for very small salaries, are being obstructed and prevented from carrying out their functions in the democratic process. That needs to stop. People have lost the run of themselves in their understanding of how democracy operates and, specifically, how protest operates. It is not protest if a councillor is prevented from leaving a meeting at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., perhaps to go home and finish his or her work for the day. In many cases, as I said, councillors' cars are being hemmed in overnight and they cannot get home. In Cork some councillors live 60 or 70 miles from council offices. I ask the Leader to take up this matter with the Minister.