Minister of State slams councillor who said Dublin rioters should be ‘shot in the head’

Local councillor Abul Kalam Azad Talukder told a meeting of Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) on Monday that those involved should be beaten in public “until they die”, the Limerick Post reports.

He immediately withdrew his comments, noting that the words were “only an expression of my emotion”, after Labour Party councillor Conor Sheehan told him he “can’t call for people to be shot in the council chamber”.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Fianna Fáil Minister of State Jack Chambers said Cllr Talukder’s comments were “totally inappropriate”.

"I welcome the fact that he withdrew the comments immediately at that meeting," he said.

"Just to be clear, anyone involved in the events last week must face the justice system and our legal system as anybody else would.

"Those comments are completely inappropriate and I welcome the fact he withdrew them at that meeting.

"The party will engage with him on his remarks".

Minister Chambers said that he agreed with Justice Minister Helen McEntee’s description of those who took part in the riots in the capital as “scumbags” and “thugs”.

"The people involved in the violence last week, it was thuggish behaviour and we have to call it as it was," he said.

"I think on the wider point we just need to focus again on the downright criminality, the total intimidation, the sense of fear that they created last week.

"I think the wider, more fundamental points about what brought people to that point where they were engaging in such reckless criminal behaviour is worthy of further consideration.

"I think for most people out there, they want to see a strong Garda response," he added.

It comes after the Garda Commissioner yesterday announced that all Public Order Unit Gardaí are to be issued with tasers.

Drew Harris said that the senior management team have agreed that all gardaí will now carry pepper spray, while some 200 members of the Public Order Unit will be issued tasers, subject to “successful training and accreditation”.

The commissioner will say the force will be “adding” to 1,000 already public order trained gardaí, as well as 100 gardaí which were added to the public order unit in Dublin this year. Body cams will be rolled out from summer of next year.

“It is very clear we are now facing a different form of disorder than we've experienced before and we at An Garda Síochána must evolve in terms of our tactics and equipment to address this,” he said.