SIMON HARRIS HAS said that it is not a protest “when you impede someone’s movement”, after he was heckled by a crowd that included family members of Enoch Burke.

Harris faced disruption while canvassing in Westport and barracking from protesters in Castlebar about state provision of asylum seeker accommodation in the county over the weekend. 

Among those who challenged Harris on Sunday was the family of Enoch Burke, the secondary school teacher currently in prison for contempt of court for refusing to stay away from the school where he worked.

Speaking today, Harris said that it “doesn’t matter who they are, any citizen in this country, any person in this country, when you impede their movement up and down a main street of any town or a village, that’s not protest. It’s the very clear laws of the land.”

He added that the scenes in Co Mayo were not representative of how the election campaign had gone.

“We should never allow a very small number of people distort the reality and the reality is that people are fundamentally decent. People can agree with your politics and disagree with your politics, but I find people are overwhelmingly decent and I think push back against anything that impedes anybody,” he said. 

The Taoiseach added that it’s necessary to push back against “such actions”, but that it is important not to “overstate” them. 

A spokesperson for the Taoiseach labelled the incidents in Co Mayo as “thuggery” yesterday. 

“A member of An Garda Siochana was hit during the scenes and the Taoiseach was pushed and jostled by a small number of people. It is not representative of what has been a really healthy canvass for the majority of politicians across the country as people in Ireland are decent and law abiding.

“Although it was a very small number of people, today’s behaviour cannot be accepted and should never be normalised and a full Garda investigation should be carried out. The people of Mayo were warm and welcoming today and the Taoiseach really enjoyed meeting so many people across much of the county and thanks them for their time,” the spokesperson for the Taoiseach added. 

A garda spokesperson confirmed that the circumstances of events that transpired in Westport are under investigation.