Garda response to Dublin riots was 'not slow or inadequate', McEntee tells committee

The justice minister said it was 'a very volatile situation' and that the level of violence and looting was 'unprecedented'

Helen McEntee said that no one could have predicted the stabbing attack on Parnell Street. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

Garda surveillance on far-right agitators on the day of the Dublin riots did not “fail” and the garda response on the streets to the rioting was “not slow or inadequate”, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said.

Speaking at the Oireachtas Justice Committee this morning, Ms McEntee refused to renege on her comments describing the rioters as “scumbags”, saying: “I said what I said and I won’t take it back.” 

She said that when she spoke to individual gardaí in city centre stations after the rioting was brought under control they told her they were not happy with how Twitter, now known as X, responded to their efforts to get posts fuelling the rioting taken down.

Under pressure from a number of deputies and senators, the minister did not accept that gardaí “lost control” a fortnight ago but admitted that the city centre was “not safe” for a period.

Green Party TD for Dublin South Central Patrick Costello put it to her that the first part of the stated Garda “graduated response” to public order incidents should be “prevention”.

He said far-right individuals and groups have said on social media that they are “at war with the State” and that there was a “violent, dangerous and anti-democratic element” among them.

He said he did not think the State or the Gardaí were taking the threat seriously and said there was a “clear escalation” in the threat.

Pressed by Independent TD for Donegal Thomas Pringle had the Garda security services failed in their monitoring of the far right, Ms McEntee said: “I don’t believe it failed.” 

She said it was “a very volatile situation” and that the level of violence and looting was “unprecedented”.

Ms McEntee said that no one could have predicted the stabbing attack on Parnell Street, which has left a five-year-old girl in a critical condition, and the scale of the reaction to that.

She said she was first contacted at 2.30pm that day by her secretary general informing her of the stabbing, which had occurred an hour earlier.

Under pressure from a number of deputies and senators, the minister did not accept that gardaí “lost control” a fortnight ago but admitted that the city centre was “not safe” for a period. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Dublin

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris rang 20 minutes later and briefed her and outlined how gardaí were there to respond to any further incidents.

She said the initial concern of the commissioner, and one shared by herself, was around a number of International Protection Centres and Direct Provision Centres in the area.

“My initial view was if there was to be any unrest it could be at any of these centres,” she said, adding that the commissioner was sending garda teams to them.

Questioned by committee members on the speed of the garda response and concerns around transport, equipment and logistic issues delaying that, the minister insisted gardaí responded in the “most appropriate way” and remained in control.

“I don’t accept gardaí didn’t respond in the best possible way,” she said. “It was not safe for a period of time, but I don’t accept gardaí lost control.” She said the garda response was “not slow or inadequate”.

The minister said there was the largest mobilisation of public order units – up to 250 gardaí – to the events and that this involved a “pretty significant” logistical operation.

She said gardaí “managed to contain” what could have been an even worse situation and brought it under control.

She said similar riots in some other European countries have continued for two or three days.

Ms McEntee said gardaí in city centre stations she spoke to were “very clear” that they had issues getting Twitter to take down posts – a claim the social media platform has rejected.

She said she will have a more detailed report from gardaí on the matter soon and that she will have further engagement with social media companies.

She accepted there were “lessons to be learned” for policing.

She also said that gardaí she met expressed to her their reluctance regarding the use of batons in public order situations and that this was why she had written to the Policing Authority requesting it to examine legal powers available to gardaí.

On the back of comments from the Policing Authority Chair Bob Collins that they have not been specifically asked to examine the legal use of batons, Ms McEntee said there “should not be any misunderstanding” and that she was looking for the authority to confirm that gardaí can use their powers.

Questioned by Labour Dublin Bay North TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin about her use of the word scumbags to describe the rioters, she said: “I said what I said, I won’t take it back. It was not language I normally use and not was targeting any particular class or area. I was describing the behaviour.”