‘Disgraceful’ comparison of taxi protest ban to ‘Nazi Hitler’ – Taoiseach

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called for Opposition TDs to withdraw allegations of political policing against Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and An Garda Síochána in a row over the banning of a protest by taxi drivers.

Mr Martin also hit out at Independent TD Mattie McGrath and called on him to withdraw a “disgraceful and contemptible” comparison of the State to Hitler and Nazism after the Tipperary TD referred to the decision not to authorise the demonstration outside Government Buildings by taxi drivers seeking better pandemic supports.

Mr McGrath asked “are we going back to Nazi Hitler’s time” and claimed “we’re living in a totally totalitarian State that we can’t have any protest safely in cars”.

The Taoiseach said Mr McGrath’s comment was a “disgraceful and contemptible remark in the context of the gardaí having to make operational decisions”.

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But Mr McGrath, a rural Independent TD, refused to withdraw his comment and said the taxi drivers had been “wiped out”.

Mr Martin also said that to accuse the gardaí of political policing was very unfair and “seeks to undermine the objectivity and operational independence of the Garda Síochána and Garda Commissioner”.

The row erupted in the Dáil when a number of TDs questioned the decision not to authorise a protest by taxi drivers in Dublin planned for Thursday in which they said drivers would stay socially distant and in their own taxis.

Legitimate protest

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett asked: "What on earth Drew Harris thought he was doing using public health as an excuse to ban a legitimate protest by taxi drivers?"

He said it was worrying that “under the guise of public health restrictions” they were seeing “political policing by Drew Harris of a protest that is fully compliant with public health guidelines”.

Mr McGrath asked “What the hell is going on? We need to pull up Drew Harris. He is our Garda boss man but I don’t like the antics. I support the gardaí always but this is driving people away from supporting the gardaí.”

The Taoiseach said: “Government is very conscious of the very difficult challenges that taxi drivers have faced as a result of the pandemic and have provided a number of supports to the taxi drivers.

“I accept that they may not consider them to be sufficient but we have provided a range of supports and are prepared to examine their situation again.”

Calling on Mr McGrath to withdraw his “disgraceful and contemptible” remark about Nazism and Hitler, Mr Martin said An Garda Síochána was an “unarmed police force that had served us well”.

“That reference should be withdrawn irrespective of whom it applies to, given the appalling atrocities that Nazis committed and that Hitler committed.

“We’re a far different country than that and it’s not good enough that remarks like that would slip off the tongue in condemning operational decisions that have been taken. It isn’t good enough for this parliament and should not be tolerated.”

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy asked: "How can Drew Harris continue as Garda Commissioner if he is ordering gardaí to break up and prevent legitimate protest while facilitating illegal non-essential strike-breaking work?"

Debenhams

Mr Murphy referred to the Debenhams department store protests and claimed gardaí “brutally broke up a workers’ peaceful picket” on Henry Street in Dublin last week to prevent the removal of goods from the store.

“Now we hear the stories from taxi drivers being told that they will be arrested if they turn up to peacefully protest socially distanced in separate cars.”

But Mr Martin said that to accuse the gardaí of political policing was very unfair and “seeks to undermine the objectivity and operational independence of the Garda Síochána and Garda Commissioner”.

He said “they’ve been given a very unenviable task in terms of the public health situation that currently presents itself to the country”.