The Irish government is set to approve new legislation which will allow a member of An Garda Síochána (Guardians of the Peace) to request anyone, found wearing a mask or other face covering, to remove same in certain circumstances.
If the request is met by a refusal, the individual would be seen to commit a criminal offence and could be arrested and prosecuted.
In many cases such masks are being worn to prevent personal identification during street protests or where an offence is being carried out, as observed during riots on the streets of Dublin recently
A change in our laws would also allow An Garda Síochána to seize the offending and cowardly masks or other face coverings.
The proposed legislation is being brought to Cabinet for approval today by Minister for Justice Mr Jim O’Callaghan. It was initially designed to tackle far-right protesters, but is now expected to extend further granting Gardaí a more wide-ranging power, based on their judgment of any serious situation as in the case of street crime in our towns and cities.
Garda sources have confirmed that many crimes, including road traffic offences on scooters and motorbikes, as well as assaults and thefts are perpetrated by young offenders wearing face coverings.
If approved by Cabinet, the general scheme of the legislation will be published followed by a pre-legislative scrutiny process. It is envisaged the legislation could be enacted as early as October of this year and will be seen by many as a welcome change to Irish law.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, however, is deeply concerned by any change to the law which criminalises the wearing of face coverings and states that people may want to wear face coverings for medical reasons; religious reasons or to protect their privacy. (Obviously, none of their membership have walked O’Connell Street, Dublin, after 6:00pm on a winters night.)
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