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MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Helen McEntee has said it is “difficult” for her to use her powers to direct gardaí on new priorities without a request from the Commissioner.
McEntee made the comments while appearing before the Oireachtas justice committee more than two weeks after the stabbing attack near a school and violent riot in Dublin city centre in which garda vehicles, a bus and a tram were burned.
Under legislation, the minister has the power to revise priorities for An Garda Siochána.
She told the committee that she regularly engages with the commissioner to see if gardaí have the relevant powers they need to investigate or respond to crime, but added that she was “not aware” there were any changes required.
McEntee, who survived a confidence motion on her position this week, told the committee that the policing response to the riot had not failed.
The minister said gardaí had policed 800 protests in 2023 and that several arrests had been made as part of a “graduated response”.
However, while accepting there had been arrests at protests, Green Party TD Patrick Costello told the minister that he had not seen any arrests for incitement, conspiracy or organising the protests as he argued that the beginning of any graduated response should be prevention.
Costello said he was “very concerned about the vulnerability of the State” from “violent, dangerous, anti-democratic elements”.
McEntee said gardai are taking the matter of protests “very seriously” and that it was not the case that nothing was being done.
Further referencing arson attacks at makeshift and official accommodation centres for refugees, Costello added: “All the technology and tools we can give the guards are useless if we’re not policing the right things.”
He asked the minister if she had used her powers under the Garda Siochána Act 2005 to seek a revision of priorities or directions given to gardaí following the assault of a TD last year.
She said: “I’ve not been asked to make any changes. I regularly meet with the Commissioner to make sure he has the relevant powers that he needs.”
McEntee added: “It’s very difficult for me to give a direction to a Commissioner if they feel that the powers that they have are sufficient.”
The minister said it was important that she is not “forcing something on the Commissioner that the gardaí do not need”.
She said she had responded to a request for greater incitement to hatred legislation, as well as technology such as body cameras.
Separately, Labour justice spokesman Aodhán O Ríordáin asked the minister about where her responsibilities lie following a social media post from her Fine Gael party that said she had “fast-tracked” the attestation of gardaí out of the Templemore training college.
It was later clarified that this had been the Garda Commissioner’s decision.
McEntee told O Riordáin that she had never claimed to be able to send members out of the training college early.
She said: “The Garda Commissioner obviously engaged with me before that decision was taken, I obviously supported that decision but it’s not my decision.”
Justice Minister @HMcEntee has fast-tracked the attestation of trainee Garda in Templemore, meaning we will see more Gardaí on the beat before Christmas.
— Fine Gael (@FineGael) November 29, 2023
This is another way Fine Gael is building stronger, safer communities. pic.twitter.com/tRb3VA6MVF
Asked if she would ask her party to delete the post, she replied that she had been clear it was not her decision to send gardaí out early.
McEntee also said the college was on track to have 700-800 recruits begin training by the end of the year, with 637 starting to date.
However, Senator Bobby Gallagher said the fact this involved bringing new recruits into the training college in the last week of December seemed to be a “cynical” mathematical exercise to keep the annual numbers up.
McEntee said it was better to have the class start this year rather than delaying it further and into 2024.
Gallagher also asked about a dispute in the Dáil over when Government first engaged the school community following the stabbing attack which preceded the riot.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald had said it took nearly two weeks for Government to engage with the school community, in a remark understood to refer to affected parents.
McEntee told the committee that the school immediately received a response from the Department of Education and that she had personally engaged with the principal on the following Monday.
She added: “More recently, this week, I met with the parents and that was very much guided by them. So everything that I’ve done has been guided by what they want.”
Asked about comments from the chair of the Policing Authority who appeared to contradict a previous claim from the minister that she had asked the body to provide clarity on the use of force to gardaí, McEntee said there had been a “misunderstanding”.
She told the committee that she had been clear and had not asked the Authority to outline exactly what circumstances in which force should be used.
“What I’ve asked them to do is essentially confirm that they can use their powers.”
As part of a response to Senator Lynn Ruane, who had asked what Government was doing to address social deprivation being a driver of violence, McEntee said: “There’s no personal circumstance that forced anybody to set a bus alight, to attack a member of gardaí, to loot. We can’t excuse it.
“But at the same time, I absolutely appreciate we have to try and support people and work with people at the earliest stage possible to prevent it from ever getting to that point.”
McEntee was also asked if she would like to withdraw or apologise for her previous use of the word “scumbags” to refer to people who engaged in the riot.
She said: “I’ve said what I said, I won’t take it back.”
McEntee said she was not targeting a group of people but was instead referring to the riotous behaviour.
Asked for a definition of the term “far right” by Senator Sharon Keogan, the minister said it was a political ideology and that she considered it to include people who see themselves as anti-government, anti-state, anti-immigration and anti-women’s rights.
McEntee also said it was not a crime to be far right.
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At least Helen McEntee has admitted she cannot do her job
Apparently your far-right if your anti-government now
Will they ask her about the single post from X
@Nigel Hayden: You mean the one where X said they didn’t receive any communication from the government until 2 days after the incident ? The issue wasn’t about communication with the government, it was about communication with Gardai on the night that the work shy looters, thieves and arsonists went on the rampage.
@Tommy Roche: good article here on it….. Contradicts what Harris said to the Oireachtais.
https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/they-need-more-units-in-town-what-the-fk-are-they-waiting-for-whatsapp-messages-reveal-garda-panic-at-dublin-riot/a916060571.html
@Tommy Roche: the impression I got was that X did nothing about various posts where in fact they took down numerous posts and officials said they didn’t take any action
Minister McEntee please look at the bigger picture in all of this. There are a very disgruntled section of society who are not able to rapidly adapt to the dramatic cultural changes taking place in the Country at present. A better programme of immigrant integration is badly needed as these are the communities mostly impacted. Your government also needs to listen to the 10s of thousands of ceasefire marchers who are perssistantly raising the alarm regarding genocidal atrocities being carried out in the middle east. Recall the ambassador to Israel, expell Israeli diplomats, search US military planes going through Shannon and impose some sanctions on Israel. You have to give the protest marchers something as tensions are building on both the left and the right.
@Dissasociated Follower: We can’t force immigrants to integrate with us if they don’t want that.
@Dissasociated Follower: what has the Justice Minister got to do with actions in the Middle East?
Perhaps you should also look at the definition of genocide and then reconsider who is promising to eradicate whom. If the government were so stupid as to do as you demand, particularly around the Ambassador and Israeli officials, have you considered what the US and British owned Multinationals would do and what impact that would have on inward investment from wealthy countries?
@Paul Fahey:
One is promising, one is doing.
@Gavan Hogan: who says they don’t want that?
@Paul Fahey: Grow a pair Paul. There’s more to life than money!
@Paul Fahey: I would be inclined to listen to the Un when speaking of genocide, than some random nobody that hasn’t a clue about the basic facts in the region.
The fact that no action was taken after knife attack that allowed mob to loot the shops and burn cars is SACKABLE offence. Bye minister.
@Pavel Shipilov: what could she have done to prevent the looting? This could be interesting, because no over Police service globally has been able to stop such action, so let’s hear it.
Worst minister for justice ever,followed closely by harris.when over 90% of your work force have no faith in you,its time to go.this government likes to run things on the cheap,ie…gardai,army,navy,all three are laughable and its not their fault,if you want proper public services you have to pay for them.mc entee and harris should both be sacked,the dogs on the street knew hours in advance that a disturbance was on the way the night of the riot and they sat on their hands and did nothing,i was passing by o connell bridge at 7pm and not a guard,firebrigade,ambulance in sight,apart from a garda helicopter flying about,nothing was been done about the shambles going on.pay your guards properly,equip them,train them,always have riot units trained up and ready to go,it will cost money,but alas fianna failures and the blue shirts wont do a thing about it,i for one wont be voting for either.
It’s very difficult to get the Gardai to do anything, they have a sack load of excuses
Mind you the Judiciary are as bad. How is it that those who were arrested during the riot are almost all out on bail???
@Pato: because there is a presumption in favour of bail in this state, which follows on from innocent until proven guilty. Would you prefer internment? You are aware what impact that had on this island?
@Paul Fahey: You have an absolute cheek to mention the word “internment” after your blatant defense of the very people interning men, women and CHILDREN without trial.
You defend mass slaughter and then have the gall to speak of internment.
@David: ooooh, lots of nonsensical platitudes there, but odd how you, again, have not mentioned the Jewish victims of Oct 7. Strangely you haven’t mentioned that slaughter or the systemic rape of the captives, the dead and even children. You may think it makes you look clever and virtuous, but ask yourself what are you actually doing other than shouting on the internet.
@Paul Fahey. I am in total agreement with the presumption of innocence but if you are arrested red handed in a riot I can not see a problem with you being remanded in custody pending a speedy trial. Is it possible that no custody was available or that no speedy trial was available?
Well done on making SF out to be the complete laughing stocks that they are, Helen!
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