TDs and Senators have been advised not to drive to work amid restricted access to the area around Leinster House in advance of an anti-immigration protest planned for Thursday.
There will also be an additional Garda presence in place around the Leinster House complex, after calls to attend the protest were shared on social media by accounts linked to anti-immigration activists.
Security sources said the force’s assessment was that some of the individuals involved in organising or participating in a controversial protest at Leinster House in September would attend on Thursday.
TDs and Senators, along with others who work in the Leinster House complex, were told that there will be a “barrier plan” in place for Thursday, with road closures in place from 6am.
While access to the Kildare Street car park in Leinster House will be facilitated from Stephens’ Green, the approaches to Leinster House and Molesworth Street will be closed to traffic, and pedestrian access will be limited to those with IDs or visitors.
Similarly, there will be parking available on the Merrion Square car park but in a note to groups working in Leinster House, the Houses of the Oireachtas Service said An Garda Síochána had advised that “where possible alternative modes of transport should be used and driving to the campus is discouraged”.
Barriers will also be put in place on Merrion Street along the footpath, but the road will remain open to vehicles, unlike on Budget Day, when fears over large protests led to widespread street closures.
Protests did not materialise at scale then, but in September, there was widespread condemnation of protests which saw a mock gallows erected, TDs harassed on their way into Leinster House, and 13 arrests made. Some TDs and Senators were prevented from leaving the campus in their cars during the protest.
A spokeswoman for An Garda Síochána said it does not comment on operational activity in advance. “Any Garda activity in relation to public gatherings is based on a graduated policing response taking into account relevant legislation and public safety”.
“Where necessary, An Garda Síochána put in place appropriate and proportionate policing plans to monitor public gatherings, based on information and intelligence.”
