London [UK], November 27: Full confidence has been expressed in the Irish justice minister and the head of the Irish police after they faced calls to quit following the worst rioting seen in the state for decades.
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe also cautioned against division after police or Garda cars, a bus and a tram were set alight, shops damaged and looted and officers attacked during violent scenes, which involved far-right elements, in Dublin last week.
It came shortly after three children and a women were injured in a stabbing attack outside a school in the north city centre. A 5-year-old girl injured in the knife attack outside a school remained in a critical condition in hospital on Saturday while the female care assistant, in her 30s, was in serious condition. The other children have since been released.
Gardai said a man who sustained serious injuries at the scene is a person of interest in their investigation. Some 48 arrests had been made in the city since the rioting on Thursday and a high-visibility policing plan is in place throughout the weekend, including the deployment of four public order units. Friday and Saturday passed without major incident amid a heavy Garda presence in Dublin.
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said there had been an "unacceptable failure to keep people safe," and called for Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to resign.
Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon also said he did not have confidence in either of the pair. On Sunday the Minister for Public Expenditure Donohoe said he fully supports McEntee and Harris in their roles and cautioned that now is not the time for division.
"While they and we will want to look at what happened, I believe they continue to do an exceptional job in circumstances that I acknowledge are of course demanding at the moment," he told the BBC.
Source: Qatar Tribune
