Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam has met the assistant Garda Commissioner for the Dublin region following the use of the national flag by anti-immigration campaigners in the city.
Tricolours have been erected without permission on lamp-posts and other public infrastructure in several areas of the city.
Residents in some areas have written to the council asking them to remove the unauthorised flags which they say have been erected by a “minority political grouping” which could “undermine people’s respect for the flag as a symbol of national unity”.
Several councillors have also objected to the unauthorised erection of the tricolour with Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty describing it as the “weaponisation” of the national flag in a malicious attempt to intimidate.
READ MORE
The council said it was “aware of the concerns expressed by both elected members as well as members of local communities and residents’ groups regarding the proliferation of the National Flag being hung across particular areas of the city”.
The council was “taking the matter seriously; it is a sensitive issue which requires a considered response from all stakeholders, and which should be informed by a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation,” it said.
“In this regard, area managers are meeting with senior Garda representatives in the coming week and are contacting other local groups to discuss the issue before any decisions are taken on the best way to proceed.”
It also said the council would “engage with local elected members to seek their input in finding a resolution”.
However, Mr McAdam on Tuesday said he had already met assistant commissioner Paul Cleary along with senior council officials in relation to the issue. “We are examining the best way in which to respond and address the issue,” Mr McAdam said.
“This is not an issue that has just come about in recent days. This is something that has been developing over the course of the last number of months, across different parts of the city. But the scale and volume has increased.”
The Fine Gael councillor said he did not want to share his own thoughts on the matter, pending a resolution of the issue.
In a letter to the council, residents in the North Strand area of the city have asked for the flags to be removed.
“We object to the unauthorised erection of these decorations. They dishonour the Flag by flouting official protocol, are in breach of Dublin City Council’s rules of the decoration of lighting poles, and are an attempt by a minority to make a political statement outside of the normal democratic process,” the letter stated.
A number of prominent anti-immigration campaigners have posted online in support of the erection of tricolours.
Similar tactics have been used in the UK by far-right agitators as part of their “Operation Raise the Colours” campaign.
