asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to the crowd disturbance that occurred at a recent concert given by the Boomtown Rats; if the gardaí on duty there were invited into the concert compound, or were made aware or became aware of the disturbance; if so, the action taken and the number of arrests made; if he will outline the date, venue and circumstances in which gardaí took action in similar incidents over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Boomtown Rats Concert.
18.
The concert in question took place in private grounds, namely the grounds of Leixlip Castle, and the Garda Síochána were not asked to provide assistance or to be present. The Garda, who had heard of the concert through publicity in the media, contacted a representative of the group concerned who said that they themselves were making all necessary arrangements for stewarding or marshalling within the grounds. This is not unusual, though if a Garda presence had been sought—as is sometimes done for events attracting large crowds—it would have been arranged for on a repayment basis. However, a Garda presence would not necessarily have prevented such disturbance as apparently occurred and, even if a Garda presence had been sought, primary responsibility for proper stewarding and the maintenance of good order generally must rest with those organising such an event.
Gardaí were on duty in the vicinity of the grounds to deal with traffic control and other such matters and to be available near at hand to assist in dealing with any disturbance if such should develop and their assistance was needed. They were not, however, informed of any disturbance and they did not themselves become aware of any. Their only information in the matter came from reports in the media.
The Garda have likewise not been involved in stewarding at any of the other similar open-air concerts that have taken place in the last five years, though a purely token Garda presence was arranged for locally in some cases. In all cases, as in Leixlip, there was a Garda presence nearby available to be called on if needed. However, as far as the Garda are aware, no disturbances occurred at any of those other concerts and accordingly the question of their taking any action in such cases did not arise.
Is the Minister aware that the information that he has—and I am not sure whether he attended the concert in question——
The Deputy is not sure what?
Whether the Minister was there.
Not guilty. I was not present.
The vast majority of reports of people who attended that concert are to the effect that it was a very well-conduted concert.
Is this information?
It is a question. Is the Minister aware that the conduct of many thousands of fans of this group has been misrepresented grossly in some of the newspaper reports that tended to give general impressions about their conduct?
The problem is not with the Minister for Justice, if that is so.