Gardaí investigating people with 'sinister motives' at anti-migrant protests — Harris
Justice Minister Simon Harris said everyone had the right to protest and raise concerns but urged people not to allow those concerns to be 'hijacked or exploited' by people from the far right.
Justice Minister Simon Harris has said gardaí are investigating a minority of people with “sinister motives” who are traveling around the country holding anti-migrant protests.
Mr Harris said everyone had the right to protest and raise concerns but urged people not to allow those concerns to be “hijacked or exploited” by people from the far right.
He said the “full rigours of the law” would be applied to anybody inciting hatred at protests or breaching public order and that it is “absolutely clear from intelligence” that there are a small number of people traveling around to communities stoking fear and division about refugees.
“I’m very conscious of the fact that people have the right to protest. I’m also very conscious of the fact that people can have concerns and views, but I would say to people, please do not allow your concerns or your views be hijacked by the far right,” Mr Harris said.
Mr Harris has introduced legislation in the Dáil for the use of body-worn cameras by gardaí and said he was in favour of gardaí using facial recognition technology.
“This is about guards who have the access to the information, but trying to make it more efficient to trawl through the information so we can apprehend criminals quicker and so that we can find, for example, a missing child much quicker,” he told RTÉ's .
“We also have to recognise things like child sex abuse, human trafficking, so much of this has now been used online, and again, I'm back to the point that criminals are using technology."
He told the Dáil he intended to bring an amendment to the bill at the committee stage on the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) by gardaí.
Mr Harris said his department was engaging with airlines about people arriving into Ireland without travel documentation.
Reports show between January and November last year, 5,074 people arrived at Dublin Airport with false or no documentation.
He said people who come to Ireland and seek protection have a right to do so, equally people who come into the country that do not have a right for protection should get a quick decision on whether they can remain here and if not, should be asked to leave.
“I met with gardaí this week in relation to some of their operations both here and abroad.
“I’m also engaging with the border management unit and in relation to the international protection office and the issue of documentation is one issue I intend to report to the cabinet committee next month on a series of actions I believe we can take to show we have a balanced, compassionate but rules-based and efficient system.”
He said there is a legal obligation to have travel documents and therefore there is a role for the airlines, police authorities in the country people are leaving from, and for our own authorities.
