Thirteen charged after Irish parliament protests
At a glance
Thirteen people have been charged after protests in Dublin
Demonstrators gathered as politicians reconvened after a summer break
Politicians were escorted out of parliament buildings by Irish police on Wednesday evening
A senior investigating officer has been appointed to investigate Wednesday's events
- Published
Thirteen people have been charged after protests took place outside Irish parliament buildings on Wednesday.
It comes as politicians returned to the Dáil (Irish lower house of parliament) chamber after a summer recess.
TDs and senators were escorted by gardaà (Irish police) out of Leinster House due to the demonstrations.
Gardaà said a senior investigating officer has been appointed to coordinate and investigate the circumstances regarding Wednesday's events.
A spokesperson said a policing operation had been put in place to facilitate the resumption of the 33rd Dáil involving uniformed and plain-clothed officers.
The protest was not about a single issue, but .
´óÏó´«Ã½ News NI reporter Darran Marshall at the scene
I spent the day at the Leinster House with my cameraman gathering interviews for a report for Thursday night’s The View.
We arrived on Kildare Street just after 09:30 to a ring of steel and a very significant Garda presence.
The main road outside the Dáil was closed and dozens of protesters had gathered across the road on Molesworth Street.
At this stage, the number of police officers almost outnumbered the number of protesters.
By midday, the atmosphere was much more tense.
As politicians arrived at the main gates - for the first day of the new political term - the crowd’s chants and abuse grew louder. Throughout the day the numbers surged.
Some in the crowd were aggressive. My cameraman and I were verbally abused by some.
At times it felt threatening, scary even.
When we were leaving at about 17:00, we decided to exit via a back gate on Merrion Street, close to government buildings. It had been much quieter there.
But it was at this stage the crowd started to move towards this exit.
Leinster House security staff closed the gates and the Irish Parliament was in a virtual lockdown.
Protestors gathered outside Leinster House in Dublin on Wednesday
Oireachtas (Irish parliament) staff and members of the media were subject to threats and verbal abuse.
Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin described the actions of those involved as "unacceptable and reprehensible".
He said: "We live in a parliamentary democracy, notwithstanding the flaws in any democracy, there is no need for that sort of behaviour outside Dáil Éireann."