Irish Examiner view: Feeling safe in our homes is a right for all

Government should support Senator Malcolm Byrne’s Protection of Private Residences against Targeted Picketing Bill in the Seanad

Student protest at Leinster House. While there are locations for reasonable democratic protest outside constituency offices and locations such as Leinster House or county halls, places of residence are not in that category.  Picture: Sasko Lazarov

It is natural that much of the focus of the debate on preventing intimidation outside private homes should fall onto the experience of TDs and other public servants. 

They have borne much of the brunt of abuse before and during the pandemic in a discourse which has become hugely coarsened with the impact and speed of social media.