Gardaí seeking to identify Harris house protesters
GARDAÍ are trying to identify the small group of people who staged a protest outside the home of Simon Harris.
It is understood gardaí did not take the names of the people, who numbered less than 15, after being contacted by concerned neighbours near the Health Minister’s Delgany home in Co. Wicklow.
The protest groups involved – the Fingal Battalion Direct Action Group and the Anti Eviction Flying Column – have both pledged to keep demonstrating outside politicians’ homes.
The Anti-Eviction Flying Column, which was involved in major unrest at a Roscommon farm in December, yesterday said it was now involved in a ‘class war’ with the political establishment.
However, Mr Harris hit out at the demonstrators last night, saying that to call the gathering outside his home on Sunday a protest ‘somewhat gives legitimacy to what was plain and simple intimidation’.
Sources say there will be increased patrols in the vicinity of the minister’s home and a security review to see if there are any active threats against him.
The protest began shortly after 3pm, and ended within a ‘couple of minutes’ of gardaí arriving and speaking to those present.
Security sources and the protesters said the atmosphere was ‘pleasant’ when two gardaí arrived. Sources say protesters willingly left the scene and say no criminal act was committed. The minister was inside his house with his wife and three-week-old baby.
A senior security source added: ‘It will now be undertaken to establish the identities of all those present. This can be done by checking CCTV and through other intelligence measures. The people present have not been identified yet and I’m not suggesting they are criminals. But given some of the public outcry over some of the health [controversies] Mr Harris is dealing with during the course of his job as minister, this is something that must be fully examined now by investigating gardaí.’
The anti-austerity protest groups have released statements about their protest. The Fingal Battalion Direct Action Group said: ‘We attended his home in solidarity with all the families affected and left scarred by Simon and his party on a daily basis whether it’s with the smear test scandal, patients left on trolleys or many of the other situations him and his party have put the people of Ireland through.
‘Secondly, from the videos on our page you can clearly see nobody was even inside his front garden, all protesters were standing outside on a public street. We spoke with the Garda and they had no issues with what we were doing.’
A statement from the Anti-Eviction Flying Column said: ‘Make no mistake. This is a class war. The
‘Intimidation of my family’
Free State has long forced working-class families to live in fear and has never considered our homes sacred or off limits. Today the shoe is on the other foot.’
But Mr Harris said of the protest: ‘It was intimidation of my family. It was intimidation of my neighbours and of my community. A legitimate protest is something that has a very important role in a democratic society. What happened [on Sunday] to myself and my wife, to my young baby and to our neighbours was not protest.’ Brenda Power – Page 12
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