A year after the riots, Dublin ‘still faces challenges’, says Justice Minister – The Irish Times

A year on and Dublin “still faces challenges”. serious riots According to the Minister of Justice, it took place on the streets of the capital Helen McEntee.

Three children and their guardian were attacked – one of them seriously injured – outside the Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire in Parnell Square on the afternoon of November 23. A man was then arrested in connection with the knife incident. The incident sparked far-right rallies in the city in the hours after the attack, followed by riots, arson, clashes with police officers and looting of shops.

On Saturday, Ms McEntee noted a “truly terrible incident” outside the school, saying: “Many lives changed that day.”

In a statement on Saturday, Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire said the events of last year “were deeply traumatic experiences for our students, their parents, our staff and the wider school community.”

“Since the critical incident, our focus has been on helping children and the wider school community – many of whom continue to receive therapeutic support – recover. We are extremely grateful to everyone who provided help and support at that time and since.”

On Saturday, An Garda Síochána said it had identified 56 “persons of interest” it wanted to speak to about the Dublin riots following the “very significant, sustained public response” to the publication of 99 photos earlier this week. In the 24 hours to Saturday afternoon, 14 people were identified and their images removed from the Garda website.

Meanwhile, asked if she could say Dublin was safer a year on from the riots, Ms McEntee said the city “faces challenges”.

She said everything she had done before November 23 and since then “was to support the people who live, work and visit our city centre, but also to support An Garda Síochána and their work to keep people safe”.

Ms McEntee said a dedicated Garda operation was now underway to help retailers with theft, assault and aggression in their stores, and Garda officers had made “significant progress” with “around 20% more convictions in courts in in connection with retail thefts.

She said around 65 per cent of new Garda members are being assigned to Dublin and added that Operation Citizen was resumed last week “to ensure we continue to have good visibility”.

Ms McEntee said €9 million had been allocated to support police officers to buy items such as helmets, visors, combat vehicles and stronger stun spray, and a tender was underway for two water cannons.

She also said downtown police officers were using body cameras for the first time and they believe it is having an impact on de-escalating behavior.

She spoke at a Fine Gael press conference about their ‘pay for work’ election proposals, including proposals to cut income tax.

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin-Broin he said community and business residents have told his party “that they don’t feel safe in certain parts of our city. “It’s not just about riots, it’s about everyday safety.”

He said that “part of the problem is the decline in the number of guards, especially community guards and street guards, in recent years.”

He added: “We have also not seen an adequate level of investment in our communities, particularly in our inner cities, in terms of sports, youth activities, etc.”

Ó Broin said Sinn Féin had a proposal to use at least €1 billion of Apple Taxes “to invest in the communities left behind by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to create a truly positive pro-social infrastructure”.