Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23 ============================================================ Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow I want to be really clear that the Government does not give any direction to An Garda Síochána in terms of implementation of the laws of the land. Anybody who participates in peaceful protest is entirely in accordance with the laws of the land. Peaceful protest is an important part of our democracy. I have participated in protests and I have been protested at. Protest is a good thing in our democracy. What is not a good thing in a democracy is breaking the law, and anyone who breaks the law will face the consequences of the law, as An Garda Síochána applies laws without fear or favour. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-23