Threat level against politicians has risen, says Varadkar

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the threat level against politicians has “risen” recently and Wednedsay’s protest outside Leinster House was “wrong.”

Protesters gathered outside Leinster House on Wednesday, with political figures such as Varadkar, Mary Lou McDonald, Norma Foley and Paul Murphy adorning an effigy of a man being hung by a noose.

The protest saw politicians and staff unable to leave Leinster House until gardaí dispersed protesters, with 13 people being arrested on public order offences.

Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl said that security around Leinster House must be raised, including the possibility of a protest-free zone around Leinster House.

Varadkar downplayed suggestions that Wednesday’s events were on a scale similar to the January 6th attack in the United States, but said the incident was “serious.”

He told reporters in Miami that threats against politicians “come from people who make idle threats or threats that are not credible, but increasingly the briefing from the commissioner is that threats are being made against politicians and public figures by people who have histories of violence and have convictions.”

He stated that he “appreciated” the level of protection afforded to politicians by gardaí and did not agree with suggestions from other political figures that a more robust style of policing was required to deal with the issue.

“There’s a way to police protests and I know some people would like to see a more heavy-handed approach from the gardaí. That’s not always the right approach.”

“Though a lot of people in fringe groups, they’re agents provocateurs. They almost want there to be an excessive reaction. And I think the gardaí have to judge that and they judge it very well.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that those involved in the protest were “almost fascist-like.”

“Not only did they attempt to undermine the seat of Irish democracy in terms of the Parliament, the Dáil and the Seanad, they also upset and undermined people going about their daily business in Dublin, who are not at all impressed with the nature of the protests, if you could call them that,” he told reporters at the National Ploughing Championships.

“I think some of these people are trying to create an alternative reality in terms of the country, undermining our democracy and some of it almost approximates to sort of fascist-like behaviour in terms of intolerance.”

In a statement, People Before Profit said the protesters “want to create a fascist dictatorship over the dead bodies of left-wing TDs and elements of the establishment they have constructed as hate figures.”

“There should be no attempt to gloss over the political motivations of the organisers. These are the same people who have staged protests at libraries, direct provision centres and against trans people,” the statement read.