An internal Garda review is under way to determine how a significant breach of security occurred at the Department of the Taoiseach on the day of the budget.
An intruder gained access to the premises despite tight security restrictions at the Oireachtas on Tuesday.
The Irish Times understands the intruder, who gained access after the budget was unveiled, wanted to complain directly to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar about an issue.
However, the intruder was caught by gardaí at the fountain in the courtyard of the department at about 7pm. He was tackled and pepper sprayed, with the garda and man both falling to the ground during the incident.
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The man was apparently motivated by his dislike of comments made by Mr Varadkar about six years ago when he launched a campaign encouraging members of the public to report fraud by social welfare “cheats”.
The intruder also allegedly planned to take a painting of Michael Collins that hangs in Mr Varadkar’s office.
After being arrested, the suspect – in his late 20s and with an address in Co Wicklow – was taken to a Garda station in the city centre.
He was questioned and has since been charged in relation to an allegation he entered the Department of the Taoiseach, Merrion Street Upper, Dublin 2, as a trespasser with intent to commit theft.
The man, who gardaí believe was acting alone rather than as a part of any protest or political group, also faces a charge of resisting a Garda member during his duties. He appeared in court on Wednesday morning and was granted bail. No media were present. He is due to appear before the Dublin District Court in the new year.
In reply to queries, Garda headquarters said it “does not comment on matters before the courts”.
On Tuesday an extensive “sterile zone” was created around the Houses of the Oireachtas, which included access roads being blocked around the campus. There was a very large Garda presence for the day, made up of uniform gardaí backed by colleagues from specialist units, some of whom were armed, and which included the Garda public order unit and Garda mounted unit.
The series of roadblocks was so extensive a traffic management company was deployed to direct drivers away from the streets around the Houses of the Oireachtas which were closed until the early hours of Wednesday morning, necessitating significant traffic diversions.
The security operation included the closure of Kildare Street and Merrion Street Upper in an effort to avoid a repeat of angry disturbances by protesters when the Dáil resumed for the new term last month.
There was no protest on Tuesday when the budget was being revealed. By the time the intruder was detected in the courtyard of the Department of the Taoiseach the likelihood of any disturbances had dissipated and parts of the security operation were beginning to wind down. However, the network of road closures, manned by gardaí, was still in place and a large number of Garda members were still deployed.
Aside from the security operation for budget day, the Department of the Taoiseach is a heavily controlled environment, secured by high railings and with gardaí manning the access points on a 24-7 basis. There is concern among senior Garda management that a breach of security could take place, but especially during a lockdown of the area.
