Report on Una McGurk's attendance at anti-mask rally completed

The anti-lockdown and anti-mask protest took place at Custom House in Dublin last month. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said that she will consult with the Attorney General following receipt of a report and recommendation from the chair of the International Protection Appeal Tribunal (IPAT) into the attendance of a senior lawyer at an anti-mask protest in Dublin on 22nd August.

Ms McEntee told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that she had been concerned about the event and had tasked the chair of the IPAT with providing recommendations which she received on Wednesday morning.

Senior Counsel Una McGurk, who was one of 66 immigration lawyers listed as a part-time member of the Tribunal that decides on asylum cases, had appeared at the rally, alongside parties on the far right which oppose immigration and opponents of State vaccination programmes.

The Minister said that the event should never have happened and she had acted swiftly the following morning (after the rally).

The recommendations were on her desk and she planned on reading them this morning after which she said she would seek the advice of the Attorney General.

When asked about the policing of such protests, Ms McEntee said that under new legislation there should not be such gatherings as no more than 15 people are allowed to congregate out of doors.

Organisers of any such event could face fines of €2,500 and imprisonment for up to six months, she said.

The Minister said the Government was asking the public to comply with regulations about congregating which were now the law so there would not be a need to implement penal provisions.

“In the vast majority of cases people are complying,” she added.