Michael O’Leary blasts Government response to Dublin riots as ‘slow and tardy’

Michael O’Leary said that the Government have waited too long to acknowledge the prominent far-right figures and groups that ultimately instigated the violence in the capital following the stabbing of three children and a creche worker on Parnell Square earlier that day.

He suggested that the Government were “rushing” through legislation after Tánaiste Micheál Martin announced earlier this week that the Government hopes to have incitement to hate legislation on the statute books before Christmas.

“We need to see how the government responds to it. And so far, the Government response has been slow and tardy. They’re all of a sudden going to rush through legislation,” O’Leary told Bloomberg News.

“Why do you have to rush it through? It should have been passed through about two years ago.”

O’Leary said while the riots won’t impact Dublin's tourism, they couldn’t be allowed to happen again. He stressed the need for an “effective Garda response team located in the centre of the city”.

He was speaking after Justice Minister Helen McEntee, who has also come under intense pressure over the response to the riots in Dublin, said in a statement that legislation allowing gardaí to use body-cams has now passed, and gardaí in Dublin city would have the cameras by spring, along with greater access to CCTV footage.

Once enacted the legislation will be accompanied by laws allowing gardaí to use facial recognition technology.

She also said the latest class of 151 Garda graduates would be attested early, before Christmas, with 700 to 800 new recruits in the Garda College this year.

“The Minister also welcomed the series of announcements from Commissioner Harris and the senior leadership team of An Garda Síochána today, including the accelerated expansion of the Garda Dog Unit – as provided for by Minister McEntee in Budget 2024,” the statement read.

“Other measures include the provision of stronger incapacitating spray for all Gardaí; the provision of tasers to public order units, subject to training; more public order training for Gardaí; more and improved public order equipment and vehicles; more Garda data scientists to support the analysis of evidential material; the purchase of hand held video cameras for public order units; and the further expansion of public order tactics.”