Gardaí operate ‘completely independently’ of Government, says Kenny

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has insisted gardaí operate "completely independently" of Government.

He was reacting to the arrest yesterday of Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy."I have no comment to make on that. It's entirely a matter for the Gardai. They run their operations completely independent of Government," Mr Kenny said on his way into this morning's Cabinet meeting.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin also rejected claims about political policing following the arrest of Mr Murphy.

Mr Howlin said Ireland had an independent police force and prosecutorial system. “So I reject any notion of political interference with policing”.

“The guards do their job as they see it in their own light independently. That’s the way independent proper functioning democracies works.”

Independent TD Clare Daly rejected this view this morning, saying that the idea “of a dawn raid coordinated on families across the south side of Dublin for a protest that took place months ago is absolutely ludicrous.”

Yesterday Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy described his arrest in connection with a protest that trapped Tánaiste Joan Burton in her car for a number of hours as being designed to damage the anti-water charges movement.

Mr Murphy was arrested shortly before 7am following a Garda investigation into a protest in Jobstown in November.

During the protest Ms Burton was struck by a water balloon while members of her team alleged that they were “badly kicked and beaten” as gardaí escorted them from the area.

“[It] was an exercise in pure political policing, designed to damage the anti-water charges movement, targetting the Anti Austerity Alliance in particular,” he said.

Allegations brought against Mr Murphy include the false imprisonment of Ms Burton and her staff. A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“What’s here is quite a grievous attack on people’s democratic right to protest, including things like sit down protests. I absolutely stand over participating in a sit down protest in Jobstown,” he said.

Later in the day, Minister for Agriculture and Defence Simon Coveney rejected claims of political policing. "If someone is trapped in their car for a few hours because people are banging on the windows and kicking the doors, well then the guards will take action and I think that is what is happening here," he said.