Ceann Comhairle warns it is ‘virtually inevitable’ far-right agitators will seek entry into Leinster House

Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl has said “professional hatemongerers” should not be allowed into Leinster House.

Mr Ó Fearghaíl, who has been in office for seven years, said he has worked hard to ensure the “people’s parliament” is accessible for everybody, but that there has to be ways of stopping the likes of those involved in the violent scenes outside the Oireachtas last week from entering.

He said there had be “some sorts of means of identifying these people so that they don’t gain access to Leinster House”.

“In doing whatever it is they are doing, they must be curtailed, they cannot be allowed to interfere with normal staff members in and out of Leinster House,” he added.

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Mr Ó Fearghaíl said it was “virtually inevitable” that some of the cohort who had caused trouble last Wednesday would try to get access to the parliament.

“We need to anticipate and prepare for that. We need to ensure the dignity and decorum of Leinster House should be maintained,” he said.

This would amount to a “sensible proposal”, not a blacklist, and would only apply to those “spreading their poison” around the country, he said.

[ Who are the Oireachtas protesters and what were they protesting against? ]

A detailed review is being carried out by An Garda Síochána of the events, which led to 13 arrests with more expected.

“We are in a process. That review is ongoing over a period of time. The gardaí are looking at how they adapt their policing plans for the environs of Leinster House,” Mr Ó Fearghaíl told Newstalk’s On the Record programme.

He admitted there was “no ideal solution” that would allow the gates of Leinster House to be a place where peaceful protests would continue to be held while ensuring that the events of last Wednesday do not happen again.

There was a need to ensure that Leinster House did not become an untouchable “ivory tower” that cannot be approached by the public, he said.

“What happened this week can never be allowed to happen again,” he said. “Peaceful, normal, traditional-style demonstrations must be facilitated. We don’t want to create a parliament at a remove. Neither can we allow staff or members to be intimidated, vilified or threatened the way they were this week.”

The Kildare South TD said any solution must recognise that most protests outside Leinster House have been “non-problematic”.

“I don’t see any need for any radical change for how those protests are dealt with,” he said. “However, if an unknown group or a malevolent group such as this who have been signalling their intent on social media, then there should be great care taken that they cannot impede access to and from Leinster House.”

He admitted that libraries and asylum seekers that had been targeted by far-right agitators had not received the same attention as what happened on Wednesday. “We as a society should have been far more diligent. We need to wake up as a country. We need to protect those going about their daily work.”

Mr Ó Fearghaíl said he could not fault the actions of gardaí on Wednesday and those on duty had also incurred the wrath of far-right campaigners, who targeted politicians including Michael Healy-Rae and Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh O’Laoghaire.