INDEPENDENT COUNCILLOR Cieran Perry, has been cleared of public order charges brought against him for a protest in support of Greyhound workers 18 months ago.
Perry, who is also Deputy Lord Mayor, was supporting the 78 workers involved in the dispute over pay cuts and the use of temporary staff while workers were out on strike.
He was arrested in September 2014 while protesting in Cabra, accused of failing to comply with a garda order and preventing the free passage of vehicles at the site.
At Dublin District Court earlier today, a judge ruled there was not sufficient evidence to support the charges.
At the time of his arrest, Perry accused gardaí of “political policing” and said today this claim had been vindicated.
“I was shocked to be arrested and handcuffed for participating in a peaceful protest in support of the locked out Greyhound workers,” he commented.
I was particularly incensed that I was arrested under the Public Order Act given that we were engaged in an industrial relations protest. As a local councillor, I have had numerous complaints about the lack of garda resources, but there doesn’t appear to be any shortage of gardaí when they are called to act politically.
On many occasions I have called for the Public Order Act to be used locally to tackle anti-social behaviour and drug dealing but the resources never appear to be available.
He went on to say he believed the case against him had been a waste of resources and called for similar charges against activists in Tallaght, Crumlin and elsewhere to be dropped.
The 14-week standoff between employees and the company ended in September 2014 after Siptu workers agreed a redundancy package for those who decided to leave the company.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say