Helen McEntee needs to look at mandatory sentences for people who attack gardai, Simon Coveney says in wake of Wicklow unrest

They are attacking a key institution of the State, and we have to make sure as a government that we protect An Garda Síochána as best we can and give very clear signals that it is not acceptable to assault a guard. People of course have to be allowed to protest and have their say in a democracy but there is a line that we can't accept being crossed when protests turn violent, which is what we saw last night.

If you attack someone in uniform who is trying to protect society, then you are attacking the State. And in my view, we need to have very clear consequences for that. And I think we should be open to looking at mandatory sentencing.

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