THE ASSISTANT GARDA commissioner for the South of the country has told the Policing Authority that Gardaí did not facilitate the boarding of a bus by protesters in Co Clare for the purposes of carrying out a head count of asylum seekers. 

Last week, it was reported that anti-immigration protesters boarded a bus to conduct a headcount and record the men on video. The incident was condemned as “absolutely unacceptable” by Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman.

The incident was linked to a blockade which was attempting to stop and block over 30 asylum seekers who moved into holiday homes at Magowna House hotel in Inch, Clare.

Protesters reportedly boarded the bus to conduct a headcount of the men as they were being taken to the local Intreo office to make sure that the same number of people would be coming back in later in the day.

Today, the Policing Authority met with Garda managment to discuss matters on how to police anti-immigration protests.

Assistant commissioner Eileen Foster said: “I have a report from my people on the ground and I can say that that was not reported to us – that guards facilitated people on the bus.”

Foster added that she “can’t imagine” any member of An Garda Síochána facilitating such a thing.

Paul Mageean, member of the Irish Policing Authority and chief parole commissioner for Northern Ireland, told Foster:

“Forgive me for saying, but that seems to me to be slightly ambiguous. Surely it’s a straightforward matter for the commander in the area to determine if guards did that.”

Foster said she was not aware if any commanders facilitated the boarding of the bus and reiterated that the “reality of the situation is that that has not been reported to me”.

Foster said that “a lot of that activity” took place before the gardaí had arrived.

Commissioner Drew Harris, speaking today at the meeting, called the boarding an “intimidatory action” that was “not going to be permitted”.

The commissioner added that gardaí are only present to facilitate the housing of any international protection applicants and are not going to “stand aside” to allow protesters to intimidate anyone.

“We’re not going to permit inimidatory acts, because that’s crime in itself,” he said.

Garda response

On Monday, Minister for Justice Simon Harris said it was not for anyone to question decisions of Gardaí on the ground at protests and that the public must not “second guess” operational decisions.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said on Tuesday that there are still questions about the “consistency of policing standards” in the country.

Boyd Barrett said there are “very serious questions” to be asked over the policing of the far-right in particular due to the contrast between the “heavy handed” policing that Debenhams workers faced in 2021 and the “light-touch policing” from the gardaí at some recent protests. 

Commissioner Harris said there’s an element of the protesters that gardaí can negotiate and explain with and another element “who we’re just going to have to deal with differently” through enforcement.

The commissioner said the distinction arises because of the latter element’s “deep-seated prejudice”.

Drew Harris said at Dublin Castle on Monday said that the Gardaí are not taking a “softly softly” approach when it comes to the far-right.