Political extremists have shifted toward “a coordinated effort to destabilise the State” and “cause harm to people”, the Taoiseach has said, reports Breaking News.
Micheál Martin noted there was a “significant level of worry” regarding extremism in Ireland, calling it a clear “threat to our society”, reports Breaking News.
His remarks follow threats issued against politicians and migrants nationwide, alongside a Garda probe into suspected plans for a far-right attack on a mosque, with two people already charged in court.
Mr Martin said: “This now is a very strong basis for indicating that this has moved on from sort of individuals or the general sort of narrative, to an organised attempt to undermine the State and our society and, above all, to inflict violence on people.” reports Breaking News.
The Taoiseach stressed that every person deserves respect, regardless of their “ethnic background, colour or creed”.
Meanwhile, the Garda commissioner expressed concern about “outside influence” from abroad fuelling violent political extremism in Ireland, reports Breaking News.
Commissioner Justin Kelly said gardaí were worried about extremism “whatever direction it is”, noting that the force had strengthened its ability to counter such threats.
“This is a trend we’re seeing all across Europe. There is certainly an increase in what I would call violent political extremism,” he said. reports Breaking News.
“We’re not immune to that here on the island of Ireland. Obviously, there’s been a number of quite high-profile events here and we continue to monitor it.” reports Breaking News.
The Taoiseach and commissioner spoke to journalists at what was the largest single attestation of new gardaí since 2019, reports Breaking News.
A total of 194 gardaí and 17 Garda reserves are set to be deployed to divisions across the country.
Next week will see the arrival of the largest class of Garda recruits to enter the college in ten years, reports Breaking News.
Mr Kelly said gardaí continued to track the threat level linked to extremism, which he described as currently “moderate”.
Asked about the suspected planned attack on a Galway mosque allegedly linked to a far-right organisation, the commissioner acknowledged that some details might be alarming to the public, reports Breaking News.
He said: “But for us in An Garda Siochana, it is not something we’re shocked by. Obviously, we gather intelligence and we understand from partners abroad what the trends are, what’s going on. This is something that I’ve said previously: There are people here and they intend to do harm, particularly to some of our migrant communities. And that’s something that we have to be completely alive to – we’re not immune to that. We’ve seen that in the UK, and across Europe.” reports Breaking News.
Mr Kelly said there was “for sure”, outside influence on political extremists and added that this remained an issue of serious concern, reports Breaking News.
Also addressing reporters, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said he had “great confidence” in An Garda Síochána’s ability to gather intelligence on ongoing threats, though he emphasised the need for public cooperation.
The commissioner noted that gardaí were monitoring fewer than 10 groups involved in violent political extremism, reports Breaking News.
He said “some individuals and groups are more organised than others”, describing them as ideologically varied and sometimes prone to mixed or fragmented messaging.
He explained that gardaí were most focused on those actively seeking to carry out violent acts, saying this applied to only a “small number” of people, reports Breaking News.
But he cautioned that even such small groups still had the potential to engage in “dangerous activities”.
Mr Kelly added that gardaí had devoted significant time to collecting intelligence “about all these different types of groups”, reports Breaking News.
The commissioner also said there had been “really concerning” cases of online threats directed at politicians and asylum seekers.
“We’ll be particularly relentless around people who target people in positions of authority, people in IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Services) centres, any of that type of activity,” he said, reports Breaking News.
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