Irish talk show host Niall Boylan joined GB News’ Tom Harwood and Emily Carver to discuss the impact of yesterday’s knife attack in Dublin and the subsequent riots.
He began: “The problem over the last five or six months and the debate that's been had in Ireland is the people's safety. We have seen a rise in criminal activity, assaults, we've seen everything. And there's also been a vote of no confidence by the Garda Síochána, the police force of Ireland, of over 98% in their own commissioner.
“Their morale is low. We don't have enough guards on the street. There is no presence on the street to deter crime. And this is all factors that are playing into this.
Following an attack at a Dublin school which left multiple children injured along with a woman in her 30s, reportedly around 500 people took part in a riot in Dublin, with 34 arrested as a result of their actions, including setting fire to buses and trams, as well as clashing with police.
Talk show host Niall Boylan discussed the backlash to the Dublin riots and how they could be used politically by PM Leo Varadkar
GB News / Reuters
“This will be used politically and it is now already been used politically,” continued Boylan. “Prime Minister Leo Varadkar mentioned today they are now going to rush to emergency legislation in relation to cameras so they can arrest people. I don't think people would have any objection to identifying those culprits and those people responsible for that damage last night or any damage in the future that would be caused by protesters.
“But also a very controversial piece of legislation that has been floating around for the last year called the hate speech bill, which has been opposed by many people as kind of thought police.
“And they're now using this to justify the bill because he said himself today in a speech, ‘I think people will now recognise the need for this hate speech bill’.
“What happened last night was nothing to do with a hate speech bill. What happened last night was a group of thugs.”
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Three children were injured in the stabbing incident in Dublin
Three children have been stabbed in DublinTom followed up, saying: “I do want to reference though an individual, a heroic individual who really potentially saved many lives yesterday and potentially saved some of those children who might now pull through in this mass knife attack and and this individual happened to be a a Brazilian migrant to Ireland.
“What does this say about the the the different mix of of tensions that exist. Is this not a a positive story about migration as well?”
“Absolutely,” replied Boylan. “The Deliveroo driver who eventually hit this man across the head with his helmet and probably stopped more people being killed!
“There’s suggestions he should be offered the freedom with the city, and I wouldn't disagree with that. And most people who have had the debate around immigration in Ireland are not suggesting that we shouldn't allow people come to Ireland.
Violent scenes unfolded close to the site of the attack in Dublin city centre as crowds of protesters gatheredPA“The problem we have is that so many people are coming to Ireland with no documentation, no passports, nowhere to live. They've come from other countries, not just directly from say the continent of Africa or Algeria or wherever it happens to be. They're coming in with nothing and it has been documented that they're getting on the plane with documentation and destroying that documentation whilst on the plane.
“Now again I say to you, most people who would be right of centre would say absolutely, we welcome people. If you're coming from a war-torn country, you need our support, I'll roll out the red carpet for you. We'll do everything we can. But you can't just be reckless when it comes to immigration.”
Finally, after thanking Boylan for his time, Tom gave his view on the riots, saying: “It's interesting to see that the issues that the United Kingdom is facing right now are not unique to the United Kingdom.
“We've seen tensions erupt in the Republic of Ireland. We've seen tensions erupt in the Netherlands. We've seen mass migration across continental Europe, indeed, illegal migration, which is down by a third in the UK this year, across the average of European countries, is up by a third! So these aren't issues that are unique to the UK.”