JUSTICE MINISTER JIM O’Callaghan has said he does not hold any regrets about how he handled the fuel protests, and he is not worried “in the slightest” about whether statements he has made could impact a future party leadership bid. 

He was speaking at the Garda Representative Association (GRA) conference, where reps for rank and file gardaí have spoken about the level of threat and harassment their members faced during the protests, and the difficult position frontline gardaí were put in. 

O’Callaghan faced a wave of criticism from opposition parties about his announcement that the assistance of the Defence Forces had been “requested” and that “the blocking of critical national infrastructure” would not be “permitted”. 

“Denying people access to fuel and clean water is an unacceptable interference in the most basic of human rights,” the statement further said.

Some TDs contended that the statement had the effect of aggravating protesters and escalating the protests further.

Today, O’Callaghan said that he made the statement in order to be transparent: 

“On the Thursday morning, I announced that the gardaí would be or had sought the assistance of Defence Forces to remove large vehicles, I think it’s important that I’m transparent with the public and I say the truth. Had I not said that, subsequently, you might have been saying to me, why didn’t you say it at the time,” he said. 

The Minister further commented that clearing blockades was a “fantastic achievement” for the gardaí, and he stressed that no member of the “force or member of the public was injured”. 

Asked if his handling of the request could cost him in the event of a future bid to lead Fianna Fáil, O’Callaghan said: “I’m not in the slightest bit worried about whether what I say has any impact in the future”. 

Questions have also been raised about the degree to which Minister for the Defence Forces Helen McEntee was involved in discussions prior to that statement after she said that communications at a senior Government level could be improved. 

O’Callaghan today said that he has a “very good relationship” with Minister McEntee and that he’d spoken with the Minister on the morning before he made the statement. 

“But obviously it was a very fast moving situation, but it was the case that the gardaí needed the assistance of the Defence Forces… that’s not something that’s unusual,” O’Callaghan further said. 

When asked directly if McEntee was fully informed on his statement prior to its publication he said that conversations happened “across the board” at a senior Government level. 

The GRA is calling for an agreed policy to be drafted to target people issuing personal threats against members of An Garda Síochána. 

They are also calling for medics to be available to gardaí at public order incidents.