However, the Garda was still “very mindful” of the threat posed by far right and it was clear they had a two-part “playbook”. “Across Europe we have seen a growth in the far right that hasn’t actually been replicated in Ireland,” he said, adding numbers in the Republic remained “small” and were not growing. While law-breaking would be investigated, gardaí were determined not to over-react, as the far right hoped for in a bid to bolster their small numbers. The commissioner also denied reports the Garda had somehow facilitated protesters in Inch in gaining access to a bus so they could count the number of foreign nationals on board. Over the following days a resolution unfolded gradually, which he believed was much better than gardaí moving in very robustly and creating the “crisis” the far right was seeking. In reality, within 24 hours of it being erected – to block access to a hotel asylum seekers were being moved to – solutions were being reached locally about its dismantling. Using the roadblock in Inch as an example, he said the situation on the ground had been “overstated” by the media. Instead, the Garda had to take a strategic and long-term approach, which kept the peace and fostered integration. He said any direct and immediate policing action could create “a well of bad feeling” towards foreign nationals being moved into those areas. The commissioner defended the decision by gardaí not to dismantle a roadblock erected by protesters in Inch, Co Clare, last week and the similar action in Santry, which was continuing last night. Any Garda response to protest events was “in keeping with a community policing model and graduated policing response” taking into account public safety, legislation and human rights. Releasing the figures, which contradict the narrative that protests were increasing, Garda Headquarters said there was a “constitutional right to the freedom of assemble and freedom of speech, subject to statutory provisions”. ![]() Gardaí believe members of the far right are hijacking anti-immigration protests in some areas. However, in the three months since then, 54 protests have been held. In the near eight-week period to February 23rd, some 73 anti-immigration protests were held in Dublin, according to the Garda data. New figures obtained by The Irish Times show the number of anti-immigration protests being held in Dublin, where the majority of such events take place, has halved in recent months, from about nine events per week at their peak early in 2023. He added robust policing tactics – such as those called for from some quarters to clear anti-immigration roadblocks – had been used by European police forces and had “not been successful”. ![]() The far right has failed to grow in Ireland, bucking trends seen in other European countries, and gardaí will not “fall into the trap” of its “playbook”, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said.
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