Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank the Fianna Fáil grouping for introducing this Bill. I echo the comments made about the fact that we need this legislation in the first place. I have a sense of unease regarding the times we are in. We will all have seen the footage of really stark scenes of protests in Ballymun and Finglas, which are in my area, Dublin North West. Some of the protests are held at public representatives' offices and some where people live or at what are currently their homes. I love a good protest. I know there are some present who were at protests over the weekend. I love a good peaceful protest. I am mad for them but, in the context of our discussion on this legislation, I am not entirely sure whether any of the protests I have seen outside the houses of politicians or others would be considered peaceful. Perhaps the protestors would disagree but I certainly feel those protests move into a different space of intimidation. As we mentioned here before, there are very often people living in the house targeted in addition to the politician or other figure subject to the protest. There may be partners and children.

In hotels and other places where we have refugees, there are very big communities of people. In this regard, consider some of the scenes at Citywest. Citywest is the people's home right now. The hotel in Ballymun is the home of those who live there. They have come here and are currently being housed here. I hope where they are being housed is temporary because hotels are no place for people to live, but that is where they are currently living. We all read in the newspaper the really upsetting reflection from the little girl who was looking out at the protesters protesting about her. She had no idea what was going on and was frightened that they were going to come in.

Any sane, sensible person, even someone who loves attending good protests, can draw a very clear, distinctive line between a peaceful protest and the intimidation of people in their own homes and safe spaces. It is important that we strike a balance between the rights to protest and freedom of assembly, on the one hand, and the right to be free from intimidation and harassment, on the other. If I felt this Bill were going down the route of the UK public order legislation, which is totalitarian legislation designed to suppress protesters and public engagement, effectively banning protests and giving rise to some extremely concerning civil liberties issues, I would not support it. If the UK police even suspect you are going to protest, they have a right to stop you and search you. This is really unacceptable. If I felt for a second that there were even a whiff of this about the Bill before us, you can bet your bottom dollar that I would not be supporting it in any way. However, I do not believe this proposed legislation does what I have described. I believe it is balanced. It considers the fundamental right to freedom of assembly, a right that is really important here in Ireland. We have often talked here about totalitarian regimes in other countries and crackdowns on people's right to protest, and we rightly condemn these from this House. If I felt our Bill would interfere with civil liberties and human engagement in Ireland, I would not be here supporting it.

It is not only politicians' homes that are affected. I have referred to the circumstances in the Dublin North-West constituency. There are many other constituencies where there are some really frightening and intimidating things happening. We must not derail the conversation on this legislation but I believe what I am talking about is related because, as I have said, people's homes and sometimes their offices are targeted.

We will have to face a reckoning. There is a movement of people or bad actors, or whatever you want to describe them as, who could not be appeased in any way by any language we use. Particularly the other night in Finglas, there was nothing but organised thuggery. Those involved were going down to protest at a Deputy's office. They used very explicit language about fighting, the message being not to stop fighting until you are taken out. They used language to the effect that if migrants come, you just keep going, and phrases such as, "You are the men of Ireland." This is not peaceful protesting. The protest was set up as an intimidatory tactic. Putting these things up online to frighten people from even trying to stand up against those involved is in itself an intimidatory tactic. The protest did not spill out but it is very clear that the organisers' were quite happy and willing to intimidate, and if things had kicked off they were ready to go.

I have taken a slight sidestep. This legislation is important. We are in a period in which people, including politicians, do not feel safe in their homes. People in my party and many other political parties are putting security cameras on their houses, afraid to answer the door if somebody knocks. That should not be part of political life or the life I wanted to get involved in. I should not have to go out of my way to keep my address hidden.

My last point concerns a matter not being dealt with today. The requirement to have your address on ballot papers is the subject of a conversation we may need to have in the future. In this context, there are people who have refused to run for office in the North because of the danger that meeting the legal requirement would pose to them. I would like us to have a conversation on this at another time.

I welcome this legislation. It is fair and balanced. It balances the right to protest with the right not to be intimidated and harassed in your own home.