Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
879. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Justice if she has been briefed by An Garda Síochána regarding the intimidation of staff in libraries in recent months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36970/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for operational policing matters, including public order.
The right to protest peacefully is enshrined in the Constitution and under the law and is an essential part of our democracy. It is important to say though that this right must be balanced with protecting the public and upholding the law. It is the responsibility of all those who wish to express their views, by protest or otherwise, to have regard to the rights of others and to the law. I have been assured by the Commissioner that the policing approach to any protest is predicated on keeping people safe, and preventing any anti-social or criminal behaviour.
The right to protest does not give anyone the right to cause another to fear for their safety and the Deputy will be aware that under the Non-fatal Offences Act, it is an offence to make someone believe that they are likely to be assaulted. It is also an offence to threaten someone with serious harm and it is an offence to beset someone in a way that interferes with their peace, privacy or causes them alarm or distress.
Our public order legislation criminalises offensive behaviour in a public place as well as engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour in a public place. It is also an offence to distribute or display in a public place any material which is threatening, abusive, insulting or obscene and of course it is an offence to fail to comply with a direction of a member of the Gardaí.
