Controversy over garda response to protest
But the actions of the gardaí were backed by a range of people, led by Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who laid the blame firmly at the door of protestors.
Labour Party justice spokesman Joe Costello, Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins who was himself forcibly removed by gardaí and the Irish Council of Civil Liberties criticised the gardaí's handling of the situation
They called on the Minister to investigate the fact that members of the public order unit were not wearing identification numbers.
"The riot squad were quite provocative, aggressive and intimidatory. They started grabbing people, hauling them away. There were a lot of elderly people there," said Mr Costello.
"I'm concerned the gardaí did not manage it well, and then they brought in the riot squad to deal with a peaceful situation."
Deputy Joe Higgins accused the gardaí of "heavy-handedness" and criticised the unit for not wearing identification numbers.
Aisling Reidy of the Irish Council of Civil Liberties agreed: "It is unacceptable that basic lessons about accountability, following last year's Reclaim the Streets demonstrations, have not been learned, or perhaps deliberately not followed."
She said the deployment of the unit was not an appropriate response to the peaceful exercise of the right to protest.
Valentines Stokes, an 83-year-old woman who was at the protest, said she was knocked to the ground when gardaí pushed metal barriers against the crowd.
"He pushed the barrier and kept pushing the barrier against me and I fell to the ground. I was assaulted, I was thrown to the ground," she said.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell said the absence of identification numbers was "a legitimate matter of concern". However, he said that the equipment used doesn't have any provision for carrying numbers, something which was due for correction.
A garda spokesman said the numbers would be brought in very soon.
Mr McDowell said the central issue was the refusal of protestors to stop blocking access to the Dáil when asked to do so by gardaí.
"The people who were acting unlawfully were the people who didn't cooperate with the gardaí. I have no doubt that in the particular circumstances the gardaí on duty behaved properly. No garda offered violence to anybody."
Fr Ignatius O'Donovan, one of the protestors, supported the Minister's view, saying that a small core of militant activists had hijacked the protest and had provoked gardaí with offensive language.
Fine Gael justice spokesman John Deasy commended the gardaí for doing a good job, saying they showed great restraint in the face of a crowd which contained elements "intent on causing trouble".
Meanwhile, one of the two people arrested at Wednesday night's protest is due to be charged later this month.
