O'Connell Street protests face red tape wrangle

Socialist TD Joe Higgins has called on the city's trade unions to help defeat plans by Dublin Corporation to turn O'Connell St into a "no-go area for street protests".

New bye-laws propose giving the Corporation 31 days notice to hold public demonstrations as well as a £2,000 deposit and a complex event management plan for groups of more than 300 people.

The regulations are part of the multi-million pound regeneration plan to transform the historic street.

Deputy Higgins said there was a tradition of peaceful protest on O'Connell St and the move represented a suppression of the right to assemble freely.