The Oireachtas Committee on Justice will be briefed by senior members of Garda, regarding a series of concerningly high-risk arson attacks on properties either assigned or supposedly considered for housing refugees. Garda intends to advise the committee about a family case who, due to rumours incorrectly suggesting their residence as an International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) accommodation site, had to seek safety advice. This not only created safety issues for the family but also inaccurately diverted law enforcement resources from regular crime prevention to patrol these premises.
Garda representatives will proclaim their commitment to address these harmful acts of arson and ensure the culprits are brought to justice. The intention is to make it clear that many facilities rumoured to be future asylum centres are targeted wrongly, often based on misinformation or disinformation.
The committee will be apprised of a particular instance where a leaflet, distributed by a supposedly community-related group, falsely identified a private property as a prospective IPAS centre. This aggravated the safety fears among locals and required the Garda to offer security advice to the resident family.
In an attempt to prevent future incidents, the Garda is urging everyone to seek reliable information from local Garda officers, public officials, or representatives of civil society, instead of succumbing to hearsay. The committee will also receive updates on arrests related to such incidents in the past year.
Moreover, the committee will hear from the Hope and Courage Collective’s director, Niamh McDonald. The organisation actively associates with community groups, trade unions, and others to mitigate any potential hate campaigns arising within communities and workplaces.
She intends to voice her apprehensions regarding the dissemination of “detestation, untruths, and misinformation” on the web. She will inform TDs and Senators that the grave nature of what is being observed instills fear for the safety of individuals, particularly those who are part of underrepresented groups, for instance, immigrants, asylum seekers, LGBTQIA+ persons, and members of the Roma tribe, among others.
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