“I know of plenty of situations where people recorded Gardaí and the Gardaí weren’t shown up in a good light.”
Michael Healy-Rae has argued that members of An Garda Síochána should be afforded more protection in relation to members of the public recording videos of personnel while on-duty.
The Independent Kerry TD raised a debate on the subject in Dáil Éireann during the week, and has now elaborated further on the matter, suggesting that Ireland’s current laws regarding public filming are outdated.
In conversation on Newstalk Breakfast on Friday (8 July), Healy-Rae said he is seeking to protect the rights of both Gardaí and members of the Irish public.
“I know of plenty of situations where people recorded Gardaí and the Gardaí weren’t shown up in a good light,” he said. “And it helped individuals, the fact they had a record of what actually was said or what went on between themselves and members of An Garda Síochána.
“But then we have the other side of it. And the other side of it is very worrying. If a guard is questioning somebody, and all of a sudden the first thing that’s produced – and maybe all that the Garda is doing is doing their duty – and the mobile phone is produced, and two seconds later, whatever went on between the two people, it’s posted up on YouTube.
“Now, I don’t think that has to happen or is beneficial to the person who is being asked the question in the first instance,” Healy-Rae continued. “In other words, it’s an area that I think should be looked at. It’s an issue that should be looked at.”
Healy-Rae then referred to “high-profile cases of news interest” in which individuals were involved in altercations with Garda personnel and how mobile phone footage was subsequently used in a bid to discredit authority figures.
“Of course you have to do your job properly and diligently and you can’t mistreat or do anything wrong to anybody when you’re doing your job, but at the same time the public need to be protected, but also the Garda need to be protected,” he added.
Asked if the practice of recording Gardaí should be made illegal, Healy-Rae said that a person has the right to protect their own interests.
Asked, repeatedly, what realistic changes could be made, Healy-Rae offered no concrete solution, instead calling for a conversation between Gardaí and the public to take place in a bid to find common ground.
Featured imagery via Leah Farrell / Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie
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