So did Joan Burton speak about the scuffles that broke out outside the Dáil last night, during protests organised by anti-austerity groups.
Such protests began peacefully, but soon descended into chaos, leaving one member of the Gardai in hospital.
During the incident, former Justice Minister Alan Shatter’s vehicle was surrounded, and two Labour Party Senators, Denis Landy and Mary Moran, were forced to abandon their cars when protesters sat on the street, blocking their exit.
Ms. Burton, no stranger herself to incidents like this, was speaking from Limerick today; “The notion that a small group of people would seek to prevent access or exit from our national parliament, to be honest, it’s is a bit of a disgrace in democratic terms, and it simply undermines the democratic freedoms of everybody.”
Alan Shatter added his two cents when he said that some of the people involved had engaged in “fascist thuggery”, and added that four Gardai did not intervene when his vehicle became surrounded by protesters.