Dublin riots latest: Police defended as justice minister says ‘thuggery’ on streets will not be tolerated

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Full confidence has been expressed in the Irish Justice Minister and the head of the Irish police after they faced calls to quit following the worst rioting seen in the state for decades.

Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe also cautioned against division after Garda cars, a bus and a tram were set alight, shops damaged and looted and officers attacked during violent scenes, which involved far-right elements, in Dublin last week.

It came shortly after three children and a women were injured in a stabbing attack outside a school in the north city centre.

Garda has been defended by an Irish government minister in the wake of the violent riots that ripped through Dublin on Thursday night.

Pascal Donohoe said Ireland’s police faced an unprecedented situation when chaotic scenes broke out across the capital following a knife attack on three children and their care assistant outside Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire primary school on Thursday lunchtime.

Speaking on BBC News NI’s Sunday Politics programme, he acknowledged that law and order were not maintained “in our city centre as we would want and the country would expect” but praised the force’s “exceptional work” in “tough and demanding circumstances”.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said 48 arrests have been made in the city since Thursday and a high-visibility policing plan is in place throughout the weekend, including the deployment of four public order units.

The Garda dog unit and the mounted unit are also being deployed, and two water cannon have been described as available for use if required.

The water cannon are on loan from the Police Service of Northern Ireland following a request for mutual aid from Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

They will solely be operated by members of An Garda Siochana if deployed.

Further “thuggery” on the streets of Dublin “will not be tolerated”, Ireland’s Justice Minister has warned.

There has been a heavy gardai presence in the Irish capital across the weekend following rioting on Thursday night.

The chaotic scenes – which involved far-right elements – saw Garda cars, buses and trams set alight, and shops looted and damaged after a knife attack on three children and their care assistant outside a school in the north inner city.

Caio Benicio, 43, was hailed as a hero for ending an assault on three children in Dublin after he jumped off his bike to hit the attacker over the head with his helmet.

The father-of-two told the Daily Mail that he “acted by instinct” after he drove past Parnell Square and saw what he thought was a “normal fight”.

Mr Benicio said the man fell to the ground and others came over to help keep him there.

The hero driver who moved to Ireland from Rio de Janeiro a year ago said: “I didn’t have time to be afraid. I have two kids myself and I didn’t have time to be afraid, I just acted.”

Organiser Paul Darcy set up the GoFundMe page saying: “The man’s a hero and the least we can do is buy him a pint, so I’m asking you to donate the price of a pint of Guinness in your local so that he knows the people of Dublin appreciate him.”

Three young children and an adult woman and man were all injured in the stabbings outside the Irish-medium primary school Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East at approximately 1.30pm, an incident that immediately made headlines.

Garda (Irish police) said on Saturday that they are continuing to investigate the knife attack, which left a five-year-old girl in a critical condition and still fighting for her life in hospital on Saturday.

A second girl, aged 6, continues to receive medical treatment for less serious injuries in CHI Crumlin. A boy, aged 5, was discharged from CHI Crumlin yesterday evening.

The children’s care assistant, a woman in her 30s who was said by the authorities to have used her body to protect the children, remains in a serious condition in the Mater Hospital. A man in his 50s also remains in a serious condition in a hospital in the Dublin region.

The interaction took place on Mr Musk’s social media platform. He was responding to a meme account that shared a snippet of a news story about the legislative initiative and complained that the “Irish government want all of your freedoms.”

“Irish children were stabbed by a foreign man in Dublin yesterday yet the government twist the story and use the backlash as an opportunity to pass new hate speech laws,” the owner of the account wrote. “The Irish government want all of your freedoms.”

Mr Musk, the wealthiest man on the planet and the owner of one of the most influential social media platforms, responded to the account by saying “Ironically, the Irish PM hates the Irish people.”

Another child, who was injured in the Dublin stabbing attack was released by medical staff after she was admitted to hospital with head injuries.

A five-year-old girl who was among three children injured in a knife attack in Dublin was fighting for her life on Friday as the spotlight fell on far-right groups in Ireland following a night of riots in the Irish capital.

Police chiefs said they expected many more arrest to follow after 34 were held following a night of disturbances when about 500 far-right sympathisers and apparently angry youths on Thursday went on the rampage, causing damage that could cost tens of millions of euros to repair, according to Irish premier Leo Varadkar.