Sinn Fein to table no-confidence motion in Justice Minister following riots
Helen McEntee has been coming under pressure since last Thursday’s riots, which saw damage costing tens of millions of euro.
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Your support makes all the difference.Sinn Fein is to table a no-confidence motion in Justice Minister Helen McEntee next Tuesday following riots in Dublin last Thursday.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said there needed to be accountability for the “catastrophic failure” to keep people safe.
Tens of millions of euro worth of damage was done to public infrastructure after disorder in the Irish capital that saw buses, trams and Garda cars on O’Connell Street set on fire and shops on Henry Street looted.
Frankly, people are sick of all of this. They're sick of feeling unsafe
Ms McDonald said a lack of Garda members and government inaction had resulted in people feeling less safe in the city, as well as in other parts of the country.
“Frankly, people are sick of all of this. They’re sick of feeling unsafe. They’re sick of the assumption that that feeling of being unsafe is OK, because it’s in the north inner city. That’s not good enough.”
She said that those who vote confidence in Ms McEntee would have very serious questions to answer outside the Dail chamber.
“I fail to see how anybody could credibly or fairly go to their community, to their constituency, and say that they have confidence in the Minister for Justice given what transpired on Thursday.”
She said she still had no confidence in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, but added that the Dail had a direct role in holding the minister to account.
“I think the fact that the minister herself has not questioned the Garda Commissioner demonstrates the lack of leadership, the collapse of leadership, and the lack of direction more generally. So our motion is focused on the minister.”
Asked if tabling the motion would play into the hands of those who organised demonstrations that preceded riots in Dublin, Ms McDonald said it was “not playing into anyone’s hands”.
When Sinn Fein TD Pa Daly was asked if they had any chance of winning the vote, he answered in Irish that that was not the point, and that the party wanted to stand up for communities in the inner city.
I was actually down on the scene about half past three, I think, and at that point, it was very, very clear to everybody who was there that things felt menacing, and the things were going to get very, very ugly
Speaking to reporters at Leinster House, Ms McDonald said: “The reason why things got out of hand in Dublin City Centre was because there was a lack of leadership.
“It was an operational failure, but it was also a political failure.
“I was actually down on the scene about half past three, I think, and at that point, it was very, very clear to everybody who was there that things felt menacing, and the things were going to get very, very ugly.
“And for reasons that I cannot explain, decisions were not taken early in the afternoon and into the evening to contain the situation. That did not happen.
“When all of that happened, Helen McEntee was in charge; the Garda Commissioner was in charge but Helen McEntee, she was the minister.
“Where was she? Where was she? Why was there not the correct and proper response? That has happened on her watch.”
She added: “I’m really, really concerned for people right across the country at this point in time because I’m very, very conscious that in many different ways, people don’t feel safe.
“I think it’s all the more real if you’re a person of colour. If you are a migrant here, I think there is a real fear. And I think we all need to collectively catch breath and take a step back and appreciate that we all live here together.”
Asked about anti-immigration protests, Ms McDonald said one element “is just filled with vitriol” but the “vast majority of people are decent and generous”.
“But they expect the conversation to be had with them, and that hasn’t happened. In fact, if I would identify one of the major flaws in the approach by government, I think it’s that,” she said.
“We’ve said it time and again: they make some effort at that now but in many cases, it’s very, very little and it’s too late.”