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THE MAN WHO allegedly threw a bag of excrement at Junior Minister Anne Rabbitte and TD Ciarán Cannon has refused to apologise.
On Wednesday, Anne Rabbitte, the Minister of State for Disability, posted on social media that she and Cannon were attending a public meeting in their constituency in Gort, Co Galway when the incident happened.
Attended a meeting tonight and a bag of sh.t thrown a me and my government colleague !!!
The meeting was held by Gort BioGas Concern Group, who have labelled the incident as “wholly unacceptable”, adding that it did not reflect the views.
In a statement to The Journal, the group said: “The meeting was an opportunity for all local residents and groups to voice their concerns about the recent decision of An Bord Pleanála to allow the development of a gas production facility adjoining the centre of the town in the face of fierce public opposition.
“Despite the valuable and forthright exchange of views on the evening, the group is aware that a member of the public reportedly caused a projectile to be launched at public representatives in attendance.
“Gort BioGas Concern Group condemns in the strongest possible terms such an act.”
The group added that it was grateful for the attendance of Rabbitte and Cannon, and Independent TD Sean Canney, to “hear the views of the local community on this extremely important issue”.
Speaking to Liveline on RTÉ this afternoon, Joseph Baldwin – the man who claims to have thrown the excrement - said he came up with the idea on the evening of the meeting.
He described the bags as “two, small, little bags” that were zip-sealed and held “dry manure”.
Baldwin told RTÉ: “I just basically tossed it (towards Cannon). I turned around, I went back up, and I turned a bag towards Anne Rabbitte.”
When pressed on whether he threw a bag at Rabbitte, Baldwin replied: “To be honest, I wouldn’t be 100%.”
Baldwin then said: “I went out to Ciarán Cannon first and I said, ‘if you are going to bring shit into this town, here is some shit for you.’”
He also accused the media of “blowing this out of proportion” and claimed it was clear that it was cow dung, as opposed to human excrement.
Baldwin also claimed that “every one” of his neighbours were “100% behind” him.
When asked if he would like to apologise for the incident, Baldwin said: “I didn’t set out to intimidate anyone.
“But the stance I took, I am not going to apologise for it until they apologise for not providing a proper service as politicians to our area.”
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He added that he would not be offering any other comments to the media.
In a statement to RTÉ, Minister of State Anne Rabbitte also said she would not be issuing any further comments and that she is liaising with gardaí.
‘Attack on our democracy’
The incident in Galway is being investigated by An Garda Siochana and has been roundly criticised.
Gardaí are to also make themselves available to members of the Oireachtas to offer security advice.
Speaking in the wake of the incident, Justice Minister Simon Harris said an attack on public representatives is “an attack on our democracy” and that such incidents will be “pursued with the full rigor of the law”.
Harris was speaking after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he was taking any attacks on a public representative “extraordinarily seriously”.
Speaking outside Government Buildings today, Justice Minister Harris said that “ensuring that public representatives can go about their business on behalf of their constituents in a free and safe way is absolutely essential”.
“One of the great strengths of the political system in this country has always been accessibility to public representatives.
“I’m very satisfied, from my conversation with the Commissioner, that he takes these matters extraordinarily seriously,” he said, adding that any such case “will be pursued with the full rigor of the law”.
“[The Commissioner] and his team have made themselves available to the houses of the Oireachtas to provide advice to any member of the Oireachtas in relation to their own security situation or any concerns that they may have.
“And he will be reiterating today to Garda divisions the importance of that, should a member of the Oireachtas approach gardai for any advice.”
Harris added: “Any assault or attack on anybody in this country is utterly unacceptable and, without commenting on any individual case, that has to be the starting premise for any discussion.
“Of course, any attack on a public representative is not just an attack on an individual, but is also an attack on our democracy, an attack on people going about serving their constituents.
“It’s very important for every member of the Oireachtas to know that if they have any concerns in relation to their own security or safety or that of their staff or family, that local gardai are in a position to provide advice and support and I would really reiterate that point today.”
“It’s also very important for people to know that any such incident, that any attack, that any assault, will be treated extraordinarily seriously by An Garda Siochana.
“The Commissioner, in his conversation with me this morning, was extremely adamant in relation to that.
“It is a core part of democracy, of a free society, that people can move around safely, that people can do their work safely, that people can live their lives safely, that people can feel safe as they go about their job.
“And of course, when the person doing that job is a public representative, it’s not just an attack on them but is an attack on democracy.”
- With additional reporting from Press Association
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People are livid with your parties performance as a government ,most of us never heard of you till this happened to you ,another jobs worth from our wonderfull leaders
@James Delaney: Your comment was removed. So here it is again: “This is the result of Pat Rabbite and Mary Harney having a moment”. Hopefully it stays here. Lol..
Looking forward to general election at this stage. As much as I would not be keen on Sinn Fein the existing government are making it easier for me to vote SF every day.
@Thomas Linehan: that wins the Internet for today!
‘Worse,’ as in the mess that is NI, where they are in government? Or ‘worse,’ as in Venezuela, where a dysfunctional Marxist government is already showing us what our future might look like?
@John Smith: vote sf, work hard, have your tax used to realise the ambitions of a group who have as much interest in you as the current shower. Vote for change? Have to be joking.
If you have issues with a political party, then there are processes in place for responsibly voicing your objections. Resorting to this low behavior won’t make anyone listen to you, is an automatic PR win for those you are in disagreement with and should result in court action. If you object to someone or something, the it is on you to rise to a higher standard in opposing them/it.
@Gerry Savage: Exactly – people should be able to do their job without massive toddlers throwing their toys at them. If he has any support for his attack, he could have organised a protest instead of turning up on the day to show off his lack of self-control.
@Craig Clancy: If the person who did this has a valid argument to make, then presenting facts and information is always the best way. Resorting to tactics like this doesn’t amount to a valid argument that we could understand and agree with. And there is an implication in your comment (which I don’t think you intended) that an escalation of response is the next option under the circumstances. We haven’t gotten anywhere for several reasons. We’re infighting most of the time. We aren’t very organised. We also aren’t as consistently committed to peacefully opposing bad politics as politicians are in engaging in it. And most of all, we aren’t that different from politicians for the most part. We can all point to many occasions when it was only our own short-sighted self-interest that motivated us to do something, when we were unmotivated to act earlier or to act on behalf of someone else.
@John Mulligan: Having heard the guy on Liveline I suspect he lacks the wit to form an intention beyond thinking what he did is an intellectual argument.
Well to be fair to him,he did highlight something most of us would never know, which is a Gas production facility being built in Gort town centre. If he held a sign,wrote letters, allow public representives to sugar coat Faux outrage, we would definately never know about it.
I, in no way condone the throwing of excrement, but I do agree with the level of frustration and lack of culpability from those in office.
The total disregard for the public they claim to represent is astounding!!!
Every metric from almost every department during the first half of this affront to the voting public is sliding down hill at breakneck speed
Both parties, individually and collectively have proven they are not fit for purpose, and seem indifferent to the tidal wave of negativity aimed at them from every media outlet.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see some other “stuff” launched at our public servants in the future.
@antisocialbarber: 100% correct on all counts. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of the lesser known of them try the same stunt as leakie Leo did in the park, getting a young FG’er to throw a latte over him and cry wolf. Government PR are some crowd.
Just watched Harris speaking about the ‘extraordinary’ legal measures that will be taken to protect our public representatives. Yet, Gardai, A&E staff, Firefighters and Paramedics are still waiting for the promised legislation which gives mandatory sentences for assaults which are perpetrated against them.
Talk about throwing a Rabbitte out of a Cannon. I don’t agree with what he did, it was wrong but I totally get his frustration. She is the queen and king of Wafflers. Always talking in the third party – they should do this and that – always ready with an excuse – always ready to pass the buck. And she is the Junior Minister for disability and children from Galway and where was she when Catherine Corless was trying to get some dignity for almost 900 deceased children. Let’s just say, Mr Cannon certainly knows how to keep a low profile. I do admire public reps but when they put their own scratch before the big wounds of their constituents, forget it.
I think that currently, looking at the condition of the Country, the state and its representatives (“politicians”) deserve to have a lot of smelly stuff to be thrown at them. When I moved to Ireland 16 years ago, the Country was 15 years ahead of most of Europe. Now it’s 20 years behind, considering the state of housing, healthcare, infrastructure, things to do, affordability and the general quality of life. We are literally the lower back of Europe and the politicians do absolutely nothing (nothing meaningful that is) in order to fix that. Even look at the housing as an example, the only thing that the state did to aid the situation was to allow people to get more in debt. It’s a joke, so fair play to the lad for having a good aim! The last sentence is just humor, but the action taken shows the level of frustration with the incompetency of our leaders.
I think that currently, looking at the condition of the Country, the government and its representatives (“politicians”) deserve to have a lot of smelly stuff to be thrown at them. When I moved to Ireland 16 years ago, the Country was 15 years ahead of most of Europe. Now it’s 20 years behind, considering the state of housing, healthcare, infrastructure, things to do, affordability and the general quality of life. We are literally the lower back of EU at the moment and the politicians do absolutely nothing (nothing meaningful that is) in order to fix that. Even look at the housing as an example, the only thing that the state did to aid the situation was to allow people to get more in debt. We’re not a poor country, there is (a lot of) money here, but greed and incompetence wins. It’s a joke, so fair play to the lad for having a good aim!
I think that currently, looking at the condition of the Country, the state and its representatives (“politicians”) deserve to have a lot of smelly stuff to be thrown at them. When I moved to Ireland 16 years ago, the Country was 15 years ahead of most of Europe. Now it’s 20 years behind, considering the state of housing, healthcare, infrastructure, things to do, affordability and the general quality of life. We are literally the lower back of Europe and the politicians do absolutely nothing (nothing meaningful that is) in order to fix that. Even look at the housing as an example, the only thing that the state did to aid the situation was to allow people to get more in debt. It’s a joke, but the action taken shows the level of frustration with the incompetency of our leaders.
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