THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice has said Minister Helen McEntee intends to ban the wearing of masks at protests.

In a statement, the Department said McEntee intends to introduce the ban “in circumstances where the wearing of a mask is intended to intimidate”.

The statement added that McEntee is consulting with the Attorney General and the Garda Commissioner to discuss how such a law would work in practice. 

The planned legislation comes in light of violent protests and disorder targeting buildings selected as accommodation centres for asylum seekers that have ramped up since the Dublin riots last November.

At many of these incidents, including the recent violent scenes at one such centre in Coolock, north Dublin, participants have been seen wearing balaclavas while throwing bricks and other projectiles at gardaí.

People wearing balaclavas have also gathered outside the homes of politicians, including Taoiseach Simon Harris and Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman. 

But far-right, anti-immigration demonstrators are not the only people who wear masks at protests. Some people marching in support of Palestine, for example, also cover their faces.

What constitutes intention to intimidate will surely be among the issues discussed between McEntee, the Attorney General and the Garda Commissioner. 

Gardaí already have powers to remove face coverings, most notably used at dissident republican demonstrations.

A refusal to give details to a garda under the Public Order Act, if the garda believes you have committed or are about to commit an offence, is also a power that does not permit people to hide their identity.

With reporting from Niall O’Connor