"Thugs" who threatened and assaulted politicians at a demonstration outside Leinster House on Wednesday should be prosecuted, according to a government TD and senator.
Fianna Fáil TD Jim O'Callaghan and Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward spoke to BreakingNews.ie about the scenes outside the Dáil, and both said prosecutions should come after the incident.
Mock gallows were erected outside Leinster House featuring images of politicians across the political divide, including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy.
Demonstrators stopped politicians, journalists and Leinster House staff from leaving the building for two hours and shouted abuse, including death threats, as they left the building.
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae was also shoved by protesters as he left the building escorted by two gardaí, with footage of the incident going viral.
Fianna Fáil justice spokesperson O'Callaghan told BreakingNews.ie: "What distinguished the protest on Wednesday from any I've seen outside the Dáil is that this was a protest that included threats to kill, acts of assault. There was criminal behaviour going on."
Mr O'Callaghan said Mr Healy-Rae was "clearly assaulted".
"You don't need to be actually physically hit, he was assaulted and so was the woman working for him. People are perfectly entitled to stop him and express their opinion and to make a strong point, but you can't assault someone, TD, senator or anyone else.
"People should face the consequences of assaulting people and breaking the law."
He said he was not surprised at the 13 arrests arising out of the demonstration so far as he had not witnessed "such lawlessness outside the Dáil before".
Mr Ward said some of his colleagues have spoken about the murders of British politicians Jo Cox and David Ames. "I don't believe that will happen here any time soon, but I certainly wouldn't want to bank on it. We need to make it clear this won't be tolerated and there will be consequences."
Mr Ward, who is vice-chair of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, wrote a letter to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris after the incident asking for clarification on "what steps will be taken to protect our democratic institutions".
He explained that he has "full confidence in An Garda Síochána". However, he feels a "marker has to be put down" to ensure demonstrations like the one on Wednesday do not escalate.
I have written to @gardainfo Commissioner #DrewHarris about the appalling scenes outside #LeinsterHouse today.
The credibility of An Garda Síochána is at stake if strong action is not taken to ensure this behaviour is not repeated and our democratic institutions are protected. pic.twitter.com/HaAzOkfAs1— Barry Ward 🇮🇪 🇪🇺 (@barrymward) September 20, 2023
"I don't purport to be a public order policing expert, but my concern is twofold: Firstly, this can't happen again and gardaí need to take steps to make sure no self-appointed group of thugs is again entitled to essentially disrupt the ability of elected representatives to go home or into the Dáil.
"The second is my concern if action isn't taken it emboldens them, and they will do it again and escalate and people will get hurt."
One measure reportedly being considered by gardaí is barriers to create a 1.6km exclusion zone around Leinster House.
Both Mr O'Callaghan and Mr Ward felt this would be a mistake.
They pointed out that Irish politicians are very accessible, adding that anything to further separate constituents from their public representatives would be a negative.
They also pointed out that the "vast majority" of protests that take place outside the Dáil are peaceful.
"Leinster House belongs to the people, and they should be allowed to raise issues with public representatives however they see fit within the law," Mr Ward said.
On the mock gallows, Mr O'Callaghan said: "Bringing along a gallows is an incitement to violence. There is legislation in place for prevention of incitement to hatred since 1989, so people need to be aware that it is there already.
"You can't at any meeting threaten to kill somebody, it's a criminal offence under section 5 of non-fatal offences."
I would encourage all the people who were outside the Dáil on Wednesday to put themselves forward for election.
Mr Ward said it was "unsavoury and unwarranted". However, he said his concern was at the verbal and physical abuse.
"There is a qualitative difference between the gallows, signs and the abuse to which people were subjected. The gallows was unsavoury and unwarranted.
"But when you look at the jostling of people which amounted to assault, in my view, the intimidating verbal abuse, threats to kill and seriously harm, also an offence, those things are much more concerning. They show people who have no regard for public order, for the law.
"It was unpleasant for the people featured in it, but I'm less concerned about the signs than the actions."
It was unclear what the protest was over. It started with the new hate crime legislation bill but anti-refugee and anti-transgender groups also converged outside the Dáil.
Both Mr O'Callaghan and Mr Ward pointed out that the groups had no elected mandate.
Mr O'Callaghan said: "I would encourage all the people who were outside the Dáil on Wednesday to put themselves forward for election. Members of Dáil Éireann have their failings, but we are there because hundreds of thousands of people voted for us, and they can vote us out at the next election.
"A question that should be put to them is, 'if you want to change our political system, put yourself forward for election'... see how you get on before the electorate."
"There was no coherence in what they were saying... that's why I'd call it public disorder, not a protest," Mr Ward said.
"Protests are about a specific policy or plan and a suggestion as to what the Government should do about it. They had neither of those things.
"It wasn't a coherent plan or policy they were asking the Government to implement. These groups represent ideologies that are unsound, they're based on misinformation, and unfortunately, I'm sorry to say some of them are driven by existing members of the Oireachtas who continue to peddle misinformation about the hate speech bill but also about issues around LGBT persons and immigration.
"There are a lot of people in Leinster House who propagate myths and, of course, that leads to misinformation.
"Irish people are absolutely right to hold public representatives to account, but the people outside on Wednesday were calling everybody traitors, not just government TDs or senators. Everyone was a traitor, even those who are not politicians.
"'You're all traitors and should be arrested'. For what? We don't know. If the gardaí weren't there it could have escalated into a more serious assault, injury or worse."
Both Mr Ward and Mr O'Callaghan pointed out that the 200 or so who took part were in a minority, and that the protest was small by comparison to others.
"The days of using violence against people because of their politics are over in Ireland and should remain at an end," Mr O'Callaghan said.
