Videos of a protest by some 12 masked men outside Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s home that sparked calls for new laws were “sensationalised” and edited, a garda policing the scene said.
The videos, which were widely circulated on social media, were “not a true and accurate representation” of what happened and were “disinformation”, said Garda Mark Ferris, Garda Representative Association (GRA) representative for Dublin West.
“I want to be clear here, the video footage being sensationalised on social media qualify as disinformation in that it only shows a part of what happened, not the full timeline of events,” said Garda Ferris ahead of the GRA annual conference, which is due to start in Westport, Co Mayo, on Tuesday.
As the Irish Examiner reports, Garda Ferris claimed the placards had been erected before gardaí had arrived.
“When gardaí reacted to the situation, protesters were not outside the house. The placards were already there, so there was no arrestable offence there. We directed them to take it away so that’s what they did.”
The protest, which was described as “chilling” by Taoiseach Simon Harris, has prompted calls for new legislation.
The GRA has said that gardaí lack personnel, equipment, training, and legislation to adequately police far-right protests, leaving members intimidated and fearing for their safety.
GRA president Brendan O’Connor said that protests are presenting “huge challenges” for the force and that the legislation on which gardaí rely was “drafted at a time when this sort of situation was not envisaged”.
“It’s a very complex issue,” said Mr O’Connor.
“Our members are struggling to provide a robust response because they’re second-guessing the legislation that’s appropriate, and that comes back again to the level of training.”
Mr O’Connor also said that while protests historically took place in city centres near better-resourced Garda stations, now these protests are “in every small village and town”.
“You have guards out on regular patrol and then they find themselves in this very hostile environment, very high-pressured. They’re trying to decide what’s appropriate under intense scrutiny, they’re worried about their own safety, they’re being intimidated. It’s very challenging.”
