Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has said he does not regret the communications approach he took during the nationwide fuel protests.
O’Callaghan faced criticism after announcing that the Defence Forces would be deployed in response to the demonstrations, which had severely disrupted fuel distribution nationwide through blockades at major pieces of critical infrastructure, reports Breaking News.
He issued a statement on a Thursday morning confirming that assistance from the Defence Forces had been sought, warning vehicle owners to move immediately and stating they could not complain if their vehicles were damaged during removal.
O’Callaghan made the announcement before An Garda Síochána had formally submitted the request to the Defence Forces, reports Breaking News.
Hours later, the Defence Forces were described as being “on standby” to provide support.
Two days afterwards, a Defence Forces heavy recovery vehicle was present when gardaí removed the blockade at the Whitegate oil refinery, although it was ultimately not used, reports Breaking News.
The following day, footage showed a Defence Forces truck driving through a makeshift barricade during a similar protest at Galway docks.
Following the demonstrations, Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon described the original announcement as a “failure” which had caused protesters to become further entrenched in their position, reports Breaking News.
The party’s deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan accused the minister of choosing to “fan the flames” — while Labour’s Ged Nash compared the Fianna Fáil TD to “Rambo”. Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn also mocked the minister, saying “Big Jim, James Bond himself” had declared he was turning “the army on our own citizens”, reports Breaking News.
Defence Minister Helen McEntee also remarked that “things at a senior level can be improved” when questioned on whether O’Callaghan had informed her that gardaí intended to request military assistance to remove the blockades.
Asked on Wednesday whether he regretted his communications strategy surrounding the protests, the minister replied: “No,” reports Breaking News.
He added: “I sometimes think if I hadn’t announced it as I did, I could face very legitimate questions from you when the Army did go in on Saturday morning: ‘Why didn’t you announce this, who knew about this, why wasn’t there communication from the Minister for Justice who knew this was happening?’.
“I think it’s unfair to criticise the minister for being transparent and to say what actually happened.
“It was certainly the case that the gardaí had requested assistance from the Army in respect of large trucks to remove them,” reports Breaking News.
When pressed on whether he should have waited until the official request had been filed, he said: “The form, I understand, was sent at 9:30am. I made an announcement 8am so like the process was in hand.
“There were discussions within senior levels of government on the Wednesday evening and the Thursday morning.
“And I think it’s important as a minister – particularly when I have political responsibility for An Garda Síochána – that I be transparent about important issues that the gardai are doing,” reports Breaking News.
Meanwhile, O’Callaghan said the process of imposing consequences on fuel protesters was “ongoing”.
During the protests, he warned those involved in the blockades that they would face legal consequences, reports Breaking News.
At the time, he stated that their licences and insurance cover could also be impacted.
Asked for an update on actions being taken following the protests, O’Callaghan said: “Obviously what wasn’t apparent at the time is that there were consequences for people who illegally park their trucks or their vehicles, and that’s a process that’s ongoing.
“The same way as if any of us parked a vehicle in the middle of O’Connell Street and didn’t move it – should we get tickets in respect of that?”, reports Breaking News.
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