asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware that on the occasion of the public meeting held in Dublin on Sunday, November 21st last, to honour the memory of the United Irishmen, a disorderly group tried to prevent one of the speakers from addressing the meeting, and that the group in question attempted to break through a cordon of Old I.R.A. men and Garda Síochána in order to storm the platform and assault the speaker; that a Deputy of this House took a prominent part in these disorderly scenes and succeeded in forcing his way through the cordon and on to the platform, from which he endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to address the meeting; if he will state whether he has received a report from the Garda authorities on the incidents referred to, and whether it is proposed to institute proceedings against those who took part in these scenes; and, further, whether he will instruct the Garda Síochána to take energetic measures to prevent in future any similar attempts to interfere with the exercise of the freedom of speech which the Constitution guarantees to the citizen.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Public Meeting in Dublin.
When I received notice of this question I called for a report from the Garda Síochána relating to the meeting in O'Connell Street on Sunday, November 21st.
The report states that one of the speakers at the meeting was greeted with boohing and heckling, but it does not indicate that any member of this House took part in these activities, or that any attempt was made to storm the platform or assault the speaker.
Is the Minister aware that the disturbances to which Deputy Aiken's question refers, were solely due to the spontaneous indignation of the citizens of Dublin at Deputy MacEntee's appearance on a platform?
May I put a supplementary to my own question? The Minister indicates that he only got a report from the Guards when this question was put down. Was it not within the public knowledge that a Deputy of this House, Deputy Con Lehane, actually succeeded in breaking through the cordon of Guards and attempted to speak from the microphone?
Is the Minister aware that Deputy Con Lehane to whom Deputy Aiken has referred, had more right to be on that platform than Deputy MacEntee inasmuch as he was a member of the executive committee which organised that meeting——
How many meetings of the committee did you attend?
——until it was taken over by a caucus group of the Fianna Fáil Party.
How many meetings did you attend?
Can the Minister tell us on how many occasions the exercise of free speech was denied to republicans during the period when Deputy Aiken and his colleagues were in office?
In view of Deputy Lehane's statement that he actually did break through to the platform, does the Minister now deny that he did?
No such statement was made.
Nobody attempted to stop me.
You went to break it up.
In regard to the latter part of the question, is the Minister going to instruct the Guards that in future if meetings of this kind are to be protected by the Guards, they are not going to stand idly by and allow meetings to be broken up?
In reply to the supplementary questions, it was reported to me that Deputy Lehane did mount the platform during the meeting. The police say he did not force his way. They say that they permitted him to go on the platform when he represented himself as being a member of the commemoration committee. I also wish to inform the House that there is a standing law relating to public meetings and that the Minister does not direct Guards to do this, that or the other. The Minister, as the Deputies opposite know thoroughly well, does not interfere with the Guards in the administration of their duty.
The Minister does not now.
Is that to be interpreted as meaning that henceforth the Minister for Justice is going to approve of the organised breaking up of public meetings?
No.
Are you now exonerating those who organised these disturbances?
The disturbance was caused by Deputy MacEntee.
Is the Minister considering the advisability of causing the apprehension of Deputy MacEntee on the grounds that he provoked a breach of the peace?
The commemoration meetings were held with great credit all over the country. It was left to Dublin to do this, and Deputy Lehane was one of them.