The Garda Commissioner has told a meeting of the Policing Authority that there is a growing far right element in Ireland which has come to garda attention over the accommodation of international protection applicants here, some who have been left in danger as they have been sleeping on the streets.
Drew Harris said over the last 20 to 25 years, numerous people from many nationalities have arrived and successfully integrated into Irish society.
He said by and large the vast majority of those arriving in Ireland, even if they were in emergency accommodation, settled in and eventually made a contribution here.
However he said of late there had been tension around the living accommodation allocated to individuals seeking international protection.
Mr Harris said this had lead to a very serious situation where people were living on the streets of Dublin who were at risk.
He said recent events at Sandwith Street had demonstrated that and gardaí now has a permanent presence there to prevent any recurrence of such an incident.
He said protest activity had also been happening around proposed alternative accommodation and he warned there was a far right element in Ireland.
"Numerically not particularly strong here in Ireland, but strong as a European network," the Garda Commissioner said.
Mr Harris said there was a whole narrative and tactics being deployed in these situations, "one of which is to engender and create fear in a local community and we've seen them do that in terms of influence over social media and then with the local population".
He said there was a right to protest peaceably but also the right for individuals to access accommodation with international treaty responsibilities and legal obligations.
Mr Harris said he felt there was also a moral obligation so people were not in effect living rough on the streets.
He said when policing in this situation gardaí had to counter that narrative but also allay the fears of local people.
He said in some cases fears were not well placed, but unless they were provided with information and have "constructive conversation engagement", he said a vacuum was being created which allowed "those with prejudice, such as the far right to dominate the conversation."
The Garda Commissioner said this was a duty that fell not only to An Garda Síochána but to the Government in terms of the information it provides to society.
He said it was obvious that this was going to be an enduring issue over the months and years ahead and it was very difficult to see how the number of people seeking international protection arriving in Ireland would diminish.
Harris asked about 'softly, softly' approach
Mr Harris said it was important not to make a bad situation worse so gardaí had been careful in terms of how they approach this.
"There's always a balance between enforcing the letter of the law and actually seeing what might be achieved then through negotiation and through time," he said.
Asked by Policing Authority board member Paul Mageean about a perception that gardaí had taken a "softly, softly" approach with few arrests over the protests, despite alleged threats and reported physical assaults Commissioner Harris said: "We have not adopted a softly, softly approach.
"If offences are happening we are actually mandated and directions are very clear about intervening and being positive in terms of taking enforcement action," he said, explaining that this may include arrest.
He said gardaí also had a policy of subsequent investigation, with a number of individuals now reported and before the courts.
Mr Harris said in the Dublin Metropolitan Region there was an ongoing spreadsheet demonstrating the enforcement actions taken.
The Garda Commissioner said that as well as the far-right there were organised crime groups that did not want people accommodated in the area.
He said intelligence-led policing was taking place in relation to these elements.
He told the Policing Authority that some local communities had rebuffed any involvement from the far-right.
Mr Harris said extremist groups were always looking for a "windfall" which could include an over-zealous response from police, as had been seen in some other jurisdictions.
Chairman of the Policing Board, Bob Collins, asked whether the Commissioner was satisfied about the extent to which he was kept informed of new arrivals into particular geographic areas.
Mr Harris said things had moved on and there was now an Inspector in every garda division as a single point of contact.
He said sometimes communities themselves were raising concerns that were entirely erroneous and he said speedy communication was then important.
In terms of resources, he said there were three areas in the Dublin Metropolitan Region where gardaí were now permanently deployed. He said numbers in policing were still broadly where they were in 2018, with additional demands now being made.
"We're numerically no different but we're trying to do more with what we have," he said.
