Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)

Yesterday was budget day, an important day in the life of any democracy. I assume many other Members, like me, were deeply troubled to see several streets in the perimeter of the Government buildings closed down. There was no protest, and no people were gathering. A small number of businesses on nearby streets were closed off. There were tourists looking at what was going on and wondering why. We have a new Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly, and I wish him well. He has been enthusiastically welcomed by members of the gardaí. I have no doubt he will be a force for good. His predecessor, Drew Harris, probably got matters wrong when the riots unfolded in Dublin. I think he reacted heavy-handedly with his subsequent security measures around Dublin, particularly around this House. Who took the decision on the policing yesterday? There had to be north of 100 gardaí on duty yesterday for absolutely no incidents, nothing whatsoever. If I was a trader or if I lived in a community in Dublin that is rife with crime and I was looking at that, I would be annoyed. As a member of this House, I am embarrassed. We are told the Garda has highly sophisticated intelligence and is able to monitor social media to know exactly when protests are coming. Was this a decision of An Garda Síochána or was it a decision of the management of this House? This is important in a modern democracy, and we pride this House and Ireland on being a modern and progressive democracy. This is one of the few parliaments in the world where you can readily have access. You just need to contact your local TD or Senator and you can get access to the House for a tour with our wonderful ushers. We pride ourselves on the access we give but we gave a terrible message yesterday to Ireland and to Europe that we are afraid to govern. That was essentially the message. I would be troubled to think the management of this House gave that message yesterday. Was it a decision of An Garda Síochána to close down this area yesterday or was it a decision of the management of Leinster House?