Rose Conway-Walsh Challenges Garda Handling of Mother's Day Protest
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke in the Dáil about the Mothers Against Genocide Mother's Day protest, expressing deep concern at the escalation of a peaceful demonstration and questioning why protesters blocked the Dail Ayrton entrance. She defended the right to protest while saying she would follow up with the Minister for Justice on allegations around arrests and strip-searching.
Mothers Against Genocide protest and arrests
Rose Conway‑Walsh said there is absolutely no issue with protests but raised concern about the escalation when protesters allegedly blocked the entrance to Dail Ayrton. She outlined the Garda response under the Public Order Act, reporting that eleven people were arrested under Section 8 and all 11 received adult cautions. Additionally, three people were arrested for alleged offences under Section 6 (threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour in a public place), and alleged offences also included nine counts of willful obstruction and 19 counts of assault or obstruction of a peace officer.
National Security Council and confidentiality
She argued the establishment of a National Security Council is intended to ensure democratic accountability and better coordination between government departments and the defence forces. She noted that the Taoiseach chairs the council alongside the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and emphasised the importance of confidentiality for national security work while indicating a future Oireachtas role would need to be predicated on confidentiality.
European security context and autocracy
Drawing on recent international events, Rose Conway‑Walsh said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the European security mindset and cited shifts in US security roles as affecting Europe. She referenced EU member states that view threats as existential, named Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, and warned of a global growth in autocracy that requires protecting democratic structures. She also noted the Electoral Commission's work on protecting democratic processes.
Modern threats, infrastructure and energy security
She highlighted non‑conventional methods of disruption, including cyber attacks, pointing to the damaging attack on the health service during COVID‑19 as an example. On maritime and energy infrastructure, she referenced concerns about subsea cables and energy interconnectors raised by Malcolm Byron and others, and described a national gas reserve as an energy security decision intended to keep households and industry powered despite the expense.
Follow-up on allegations and language used in debate
Rose Conway‑Walsh said she will follow up with the Minister for Justice on assertions made in the House, including questions over the necessity of strip‑searching. She criticised deputies who accused people of complicity in genocide, calling that language "a horrible assertion" and saying it is demonstrably false and should not be made in the debate.
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I'm really deeply concerned about what's happened with Mothers Against Genocide as well protesting peacefully on Mother's Day. I want to give you the time to answer why the escalation of this peaceful protest took place. They have been very, very powerful advocates on behalf of women and children who are being slaughtered in Palestine. I'll make a fundamental point that the establishment of this National Security Council is about creating a proper structure to ensure democratic accountability in terms of national security matters, proper coordination between all government departments and the defence forces. So, as Taoiseach, I chair it, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. That's at a high level in terms of the national security threats that face the country. Confidentiality is very, very important in terms of the conduct of national security threats and how we respond. And in time, I would like to see some discussion with the Oireachtas in terms of an Oireachtas role, but it would have to be predicated on confidentiality in terms of our engagement with En-Gardash economy or with the defence forces. We don't have a tradition of that in our political system. But given the nature of modern threats, and it's not project fear, Deputy Boyle Barrett, Russia did invade Ukraine, by the way, just as a fact. It's not project fear, it happened. And that act alone has changed the entire mindset around Europe in respect of security, allied to the decision of the US to make it very clear that its role is changing in terms of being the ultimate security guarantor of the Western Hemisphere. And therefore, Europe does have to seriously look at how exposed it is to any future aggression. And there are EU member states, whether you like it or not, or others might not like it, but it's a reality, they see it as existential. These are states that formerly experienced the brutality and the repression of the Soviet Empire. I'm speaking of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia. They don't want to ever again be under the rule of a jackboot regime that suppresses civil rights, civil expression, political expression. And if you speak out, you're put into a jail straight away. They don't want that. So it's not project fear. It's a bit too simplistic in terms of what's going on. And in some respects, we're seeing a growth in autocracy across the world with similar methodologies and similar approaches to international relations. So we do actually have to protect both our own democratic structures, as Deputy O'Sullivan has said, and the Electoral Commission is working on that. We also have to protect, as Deputy Moynihan said, our economic infrastructure and our energy infrastructure. Because modern methods of disruption, warfare doesn't have to be waged conventionally. They can be done through cyber to devastating effects, as we found out during the attack on the health service during COVID-19. And it was devastating. On the maritime front, which has been raised, I think by Deputy Byron as well, Malcolm Byron raised a number of issues. The subsea cables, the energy interconnectors are very important. The decision of a national gas reserve is a security decision. It's an energy security decision, whereby if anything happened, or interconnectors, we do need backup to keep the Irish economy going and to keep the lights on, basically, in households and in industry. And it's an expensive thing to have to do, but we have to do it. I believe it would be responsible to take a chance in respect of that. In terms of Mothers Against Genocide protests, there's absolutely no issue with protests. None whatsoever. My understanding is, and I'm informed the following engagement with a number of protesters who are blocking the entrance to Dail Ayrton. I think we all saw that. Why does that have to happen? You can protest on the left-hand side. You can protest on the right-hand side. You can protest on across the road. You don't have to. You don't have to protest at all, because we had a previous protest in the previous time, a year or two ago, which were quite violent. I'm not saying, sorry, I'm not saying what it was against genocide or being that. They're not. But everybody in this house railed against the Gardaí for not having operational procedures to keep access and egress from Leinster House available. I mean, sorry, through the chair, I haven't interrupted. I just want to make a bit, but you don't have to block the gates of Leinster House. Fine. No, what happened then was the Gardaí gave a direction under the Public Order Act. Okay? That's what the Gardaí formally did. No physical engagement, just gave a direction. These individuals, it says, were given a period of time to adhere. They were given time to adhere to the direction. The direction was not complied with, and a number of people were arrested then for offences contrary to the Criminal Justice Public Order Act. Eleven people were arrested under Section 8 of the Public Order Act, and all 11 have received adult cautions. Additionally, three people were also arrested for alleged offences under Section 6, threatening abusive or insulting behaviour in a public place. Nine, willful obstruction, and 19, assault of obstruction of a peace officer. Now, I will follow up with the Minister of Justice, in terms of the assertions and the allegations that have been made today in the House. I don't have any background to that, but I will follow it up, because I would not understand the necessity for any strip searching or whatever. But I will follow that up. But I will again make the point, the deputies use the phrase again, which they use with abandon, where they accuse people of complicity and genocide. Now, that is a horrible, it's a great old slogan, but actually it's a horrible assertion. I just want to make a point that that is a horrible assertion. It's a demonstrably false assertion. And again, misreading, absolutely wrong. And it shouldn't be made. Because you complain, deputies complain from time to time about what assertions made about them and others. That is very fundamentally wrong. And it speaks to a kind of philosophy that's really in a mindset. It's about how can we blame the Irish government or the Irish parliamentarians for what's going on in Gaza and not the Israeli government. Your approach always seems to be, let's blame the Irish government, not where the fault lies. And you're attempting to drive a wedge between the Irish people and the Irish public representatives who are not of your persuasion.
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