Opinion

Are barriers, road closures and locking down the city centre the right way to police protests?

While gardaí need to take seriously threats posed by small groups who have shown themselves capable of violence, the right to protest in public places must be protected

A recent anti-immigration protest on Molesworth Street, in Dublin. Balancing rights around protest is a complex and difficult task, but there are many options available to gardaí. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
A recent anti-immigration protest on Molesworth Street, in Dublin. Balancing rights around protest is a complex and difficult task, but there are many options available to gardaí. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Claire Mc Evoy
Mon Sept 30 2024 - 05:51

In the wake of a recent powerful RTÉ Investigates programme, Inside the Riots, on anti-immigrant protests and associated violence, there has been a renewed focus on how these events are policed. The documentary showed distressing scenes of extreme violence and racism and a number of incidents where gardaí were ineffective or passive in dealing with assaults on journalists, workers and asylum seekers.

In response, the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, has acknowledged that it was a mistake to stand down the public order unit in Coolock. It now seems likely that there will be a wider reappraisal of training and resourcing of garda operations around similar demonstrations and of the ‘graduated approach’ that has informed the Garda response to date. Last week, Mr Harris said gardaí had obtained footage of July’s anti-immigration riot in Coolock from the broadcaster and that it would form part of their investigations.

Shortly before the programme was aired, a large-scale anti-immigrant protest was planned for O’Connell Street with the stated intention of marching to Leinster House. A relatively small number of people showed up that Thursday, but a sit-down protest caused disruption to traffic. When the initially peaceful protest spilled over into confrontation with gardaí, a number of arrests were made, but overall there were no reports of injuries or serious incidents. At one level, the response might be seen as a successful public order operation. The police facilitated a contentious, if small, initially peaceful protest. Even when protesters caused disruption and inconvenience to the wider community, they were allowed to make their point. When a proportion of those involved were judged to have broken the law, they were dealt with without affecting the larger protest group. All the while, violence and damage to institutions and property were prevented.

There is, however, another dimension to the policing operation that needs consideration. In anticipation of the demonstration and another much smaller event a day earlier, large areas of the city centre were closed completely to traffic and pedestrians for two days. On Wednesday and Thursday of that week, Kildare Street, Molesworth Street and neighbouring areas were blocked by fixed barriers and a series of garda checkpoints. Whereas previously these extreme measures were only used for visits of world leaders, over the past year this type of closure of the area around Leinster House and Government Buildings has become commonplace. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has observed complete closures at regular intervals over recent months, including on days when no protest took place. Earlier this month, we learned that Garda spending on managing protests at Leinster House has increased significantly over the past year, with more than €1 million spent already in 2024.

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The background to this is a worrying pattern of violence directed at democratic institutions and representatives. In addition to violent disturbances near Leinster House and Government Buildings, there have been death threats against senior Government and Opposition leaders, demonstrations outside politicians’ homes and assaults on political representatives of all parties – particularly women. During the recent local and European elections, we witnessed unprecedented levels of verbal and physical attacks and intimidation tactics targeting candidates and canvassers. Some three-quarters of candidates of an immigrant background experienced racism and harassment during their campaigns, according to the Immigrant Council of Ireland. A quarter were threatened with violence. Equally worrying is a continuing rise in recorded hate crime against minority communities – particularly refugees, ethnic minorities and the LGBTI+ community.

Last year, aware of this trend and its potential impact on political participation, the government appointed a taskforce on safe participation in political life, chaired by former Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, which made 16 wide-ranging recommendations. In our submission to the taskforce, the ICCL cautioned against any measures that might inhibit or restrict the fundamental right to take part in peaceful protest. Undoubtedly there are small groups who have shown themselves capable of serious violence and the gardaí need to take those threats seriously. However, the right of the public to raise issues of concern and protest in public places, including at the national parliament, is fundamental. The almost daily occurrence of protest at Leinster House is a sign of a healthy, vibrant democracy.

When considered alongside the Minister for Justice’s stated objectives to give gardaí access to facial recognition technology and ban face coverings at protests, the repeated closures of the area around Government Buildings risk creating a chilling effect on the public that could have the effect of undermining the democratic values we all seek to defend.

Balancing rights around protest is a complex and difficult task, but there are many options available to gardaí. They can invest in intelligence targeting groups and individuals who are consistently behind threats and harassment. They can take prompt action when people break the law. Similarly, protective measures such as barriers and road closures will be necessary on high-risk occasions, but if they are deployed too frequently, we risk normalising this extreme response and deterring members of the public from taking part in peaceful protest.

There is no doubt that gardaí and the political system are facing new security challenges or at least new manifestations of political violence, but any review of the policing approach to these events must protect and facilitate people’s right to peaceful protest. We must ensure that in developing responses to anti-democratic forces, we do not inhibit access to our political institutions and representatives or prevent the public from expressing their constitutional rights.

Claire Mc Evoy is head of research and policy at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL)