Vol. 577 No. 4
256 Mr. J. Brady asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the Garda Síochána can be better employed than at present in manning a number of peaceful and civil farmer protests concerning the importation of cheap milk by a company (details supplied) throughout the country. [31452/03]
I am sure the Deputy is aware that the primary role of the Garda Síochána is to enforce the law. At any protest its role is to preserve the peace or prevent any breaches of it. I have been informed by the Garda authorities, which are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that there have been a number of protests concerning the importation of cheap milk at different retail outlets throughout the country. These protests involved farmers taking trolleys and filling them with frozen food and volumes of milk. They would then leave these trolleys in the aisles or at the checkouts causing obstructions. No gardaí were specifically deployed to deal with such protests which have been peaceful and trouble free to date.
