The far right in Ireland has become more organised, the Taoiseach and Garda Commissioner have warned.
Micheál Martin said the threat of extreme violence has “moved on” from individuals to an organised attempt to undermine the State and society.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said it was clear some people among the Irish far right were now trying to organise, so they would have the capacity to take violent action. He said even very small groups could challenge the State and seek to undermine it.
“No different to [dissident republicans]. Although they are small, obviously there’s the potential for a lot of dangerous activity. It’s something we monitor very, very closely,” he said, saying there were fewer than 10 such far-right groups in the Republic.
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“There are people here and they intend to do harm, particularly to some of our migrant communities, and that’s something we have to be completely alive to. We are not immune to that. We’ve seen it in the UK and across Europe.”
The current “risk level” to the State, meaning the threat of a major security event, remained “moderate”.
However, most far-right agitators making threats or trying to incite violence via social media had neither the intent nor capability of following though, despite a lot of “talk in the media” about the supposed threat they posed.
Mr Martin also believed access to Leinster House may need to be reviewed after it emerged a man linked in recent days to an alleged violent far-right extremist group alleged planning a terrorist campaign had gained access by being signed in twice in July.
The Taoiseach and Mr Kelly were speaking, alongside Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, at a passing out ceremony for 194 new gardaí at the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary.
They made their remarks in the wake of high-profile cases of far-right violence and alleged conspiracies in recent weeks.
Last week it was alleged in court a violent far-right group, the Irish Defence Army (IDA), was conspiring to attack Galway Mosque to bring about its destruction.
It was alleged that was to be its first attack in a terrorist campaign against migrants. A Garda intervention in Co Laois the week before last resulted in three arrests.
One of the men detained, and whose house was searched as part of the antiterrorism inquiry led by the Garda special detective unit, is the partner of a now-expelled Sinn Féin member based in Co Laois.
The man and his partner were signed in on July 16th by Senator Maria McCormack for a Dáil healthcare debate, the party has said. The next day a staff member in Ms McCormack’s office signed them in, at her request, on the day of a housing protest outside the Dáil, it also said.
Regarding the far right, Mr Martin said: “This is very serious. You’re talking about an organisation, you’re talking about an organised approach to inflict violence on people.”
He noted the recent attack in Drogheda, Co Louth, where the staircase in an Ipas centre was set alight, trapping a number of residents, including children and a newborn baby.
There were also recent “attempts” to engage in violence at other Ipas centres, including the recent rioting at Citywest, Saggart, Co Dublin. He was also aware of threats made against other people and their families.
“This now is very strong basis for indicating that this has moved on from individuals, or a general sort of narrative, to an organised attempt to undermine the State and society,” Mr Martin said.
Mr O’Callaghan said he shared the concerns of the Taoiseach and Garda Commissioner about the threat posed by the far right. However, gardaí had made considerable progress in investigations into recent crimes linked to the far right.
This included arresting and charging suspects for the Citywest Ipas centre riots last month, the suspected Drogheda Ipas centre arson attack, also in October, and the alleged conspiracy to engage in a far-right campaign of violent attacks, commencing with a Galway mosque.
