JUSTICE MINISTER HELEN McEntee came under heavy fire from the public over the rioting that engulfed Dublin with emails and messages saying it made a mockery of her previous comments that the capital was safe.
A sample of correspondence to the Department of Justice reveals calls for the resignation of McEntee and the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, with one saying what had happened was “truly horrific”.
One message said: “Minister, do you still think that Dublin is a safe city considering the events in Parnell Square today?. You need to wake up and stop talking rubbish.”
Another wrote about a family member’s visit to Dublin from Belfast not long before the violence and how they had witnessed widespread drug dealing the likes of which they’d never seen before.
“Won’t ever return to Dublin for leisure Plenty other city breaks in Europe from base in U.K.,” said the message.
One parent said they had lived in Dublin years ago and watched how the streets of the capital had become “critically unsafe”.
They wrote: “Dublin is a violent dangerous place to which my son has to go for university. I grew up in and around Dublin so I know what safe and unsafe mean.”
Another person said the government was “failing miserably” when it came to public safety around O’Connell Street and the rest of the city.
Their email said: “Your recent walkabout on Talbot Street [following an attack on an American tourist] announcing that it was perfectly safe was an insult to our intelligence.
“You are presiding over a system where law‐abiding citizens would not even think of crossing O’Connell Bridge … [it] is outrageous.”
One person wrote of how they were “appalled” about the riots and said anybody involved who was found to be on social welfare should be stripped off their benefits.
“This cohort cannot be allowed to gain any credence or airtime from this day onwards,” their message said.
Another person, who said they were a lifelong Fine Gael voter, said they did not want to see “human filth” loot or burn the capital city ever again.
An email said: “We need more gardaí on the streets and we need to control this. I can’t believe what is happening in Dublin.”
Others were more reflective with one saying they worked with anti-social behaviour on a daily basis and that the gardaí needed to be given every support to do what is a difficult job.
“[They] have a massive task in front of them in dealing with these despicable acts and I sympathise with what [they] … have to deal with,” said a message.
“The state should show and ensure every support is given to law enforcement in such matters. Very sad time for the capital and those affected by this.”
One message wrote of their fury over how the far right had been dealt with by the state.
They wrote: “I am outraged by the scenes of sc**bag Irish far right and will never let my children go into town again where police are absent and control appears to be unattainable.”
Another called for special legislative measures saying it had been a “terrible advertisement” for Ireland that had featured on news channels across the world.
“It would appear that the gardaí were caught totally unaware of the threat which was being planned. Was there an intelligence failure?”
One member of the public said Fine Gael’s reputation as the “party of law and order” had been badly tarnished by the events and previous high-profile violent incidents in the city.
“So much for your statements some months ago about our city centre being safe,” they wrote.
Speaking at the time of the violent scenes, McEntee described them as an “appalling crime” and said they would not be tolerated. She later told an Oireachtas Committee that the riots were the “exploitation of an appalling incident to simply wreak havoc”.
Asked the day after the riots if she had considered her position or offered to resign, McEntee said: “I have not and I will not.
“I am absolutely committed to my work in making sure that I support the gardaí and the commissioner in responding to these mindless thugs.”
She survived a confidence motion in December.
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