From top: Rally against rona restrictions at Custom House Quay, Dublin 1 last month; Minister for Justice Helen McEntee
This morning.
Radio One’s Today with Claire Byrne.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee spoke to Claire Byrne about the new powers given to gardai.
She said the Criminal Justice Enforcement Power bill will ensure gardaí have the powers they need to “act swiftly” to deal with pubs who have breached Covid-19 regulations.
But, the host asked. what about protests?
Not all protests (this being RTÉ).
Specifically ‘anti-mask’ protests.
Claire Byrne: “How do you police those protests now because people are allowed to protest, as they always have been. But if you are protesting, in a large gathering now, with no face coverings. What is the Garda role in those situations?”
Helen McEntee: “Well, I think, I mean it is very difficult and obviously, the gardai, this isn’t the first instance where we have had large protests or where we have people gathering and whether or not wearing face coverings. Now the face coverings, it’s obviously very clear that it’s mandatory when you’re in public transport, when you’re in shops and we’re advising people to wear them outdoors and for the vast majority of times, particularly where they’re in large gatherings, there are public order offences, that gardai can again use at their behest…”
Byrne: “If you’re outside at at an anti-mask protest, you don’t have to wear one but you shouldn’t be at a large gathering?”
McEntee: “You shouldn’t be at a large gathering, no. And I mean we’re very clear with that. There shouldn’t be any large gatherings. What we’ve introduced now though, and which is a penal provision, is where there are large gatherings of over 15 people. So that hadn’t been the case up until Friday where we introduced these new, and where the minister fined into regulations anybody organising, so it’s not the people who are attending, anybody organising an event where there are over 15 people, in an outdoor setting, can face prosecution and can be fined up to the €2,500 or face a prison term.”
Later asked if it should be made mandatory for gardai to wear facemasks at checkpoints, when they lean into people’s cars, Ms McEntee said:
“This is an operational matter and I suppose this is something that the Garda Commissioner and his team would advise on so it’s really not something for me to get involved in. I do think, and if you look at even, even if you see two guards in a car, you often see them wearing face coverings because they’re clearly from two different households. I think in the vast majority of cases, gardai are wearing them but again that’s very much an operational matter.”
Listen back here
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