Varadkar reluctant to discuss those who protested outside his home

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he doesn't want to give any oxygen to the people who have protested outside his private home and said that it's important that they get the balance right when introducing any legislation banning such demonstrations.

Mr Varadkar said it was important that people have the right to protest in a democracy and that the access to politicians which exists in Ireland is maintained.

“I am glad that we do live in a country where people are free to protest and I wouldn’t like us to be one of those countries where politicians and public figures live in a security bubble. I haven’t see any legislation at this stage and it’s hard to comment on legislation you haven’t seen. I think it is really important that we get the balance right.

“I saw when I was Taoiseach that I went to international events I was able to walk around freely with maybe one security officer and see people arriving from other countries and they were maybe surrounded by a security bubble and they probably never got to meet a person without them having gone through some security vetting procedure.

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“I would not like us to get like that as a country. One of the pluses about Irish democracy is that people know their politicians, meet their politicians and we are not as distant from people as would be the case in bigger countries, in particular, and I wouldn’t like us to go down that road, so it is important we get the balance right.”

Mr Varadkar, speaking in Galway where he opened a €6million innovation hub and medical imaging suite at GMIT, said he did not wish to discuss the recent protest outside his own home.

“I prefer not to comment on that too much because some of the people involved in this type of protest love nothing more than being talked about, but what I would say is there is private property, which is one thing, and there’s also the public space, and our footpaths and our roads are public spaces and I acknowledge that and I accept that, but bear in mind everyone has the entitlement to freedom of the road and public spaces.

“I think what is very wrong is that when protesters carry out protests which prevent people getting into their own homes, that people driving down the road to pick up their kids, that kind of protest, no matter who does it, is wrong,” added Mr Varadkar.