Editorial: Politicians and migrants should be able to live without fear

“I don’t like describing those sorts of things as protest,” Taoiseach Simon Harris said after his home was targeted by a far-right anti-immigration group.

Everyone has a right to express their convictions, but legitimately and respectfully. As Mr Harris, who was not even at home at the time, said: “I always think people’s families and homes should be out of bounds.”

He took the opportunity to call for calm “after the week that it has been.”

The row between London and Dublin has undeniably fanned the flames under the already white-hot issue of immigration. That the Government has made a litany of mistakes on the issue is beyond question.

The fact there are now 1,676 male asylum-seekers back on the streets without any offers of accommodation after the move on Mount Street speaks to the level of dysfunction and failures in implementing a coherent and effective migrant management policy.

But there are also those with a sinister intent, bent on using the issue to channel ill-feeling and hostility towards migrants, the State and the Government.

This cohort must be seen as distinct from a genuine groundswell of disquiet within the general public, who feel justifiable anger and frustration at the lack of consultation, communication and co-ordination when it comes to processing asylum-seekers fairly.

The vast majority of those who wish to vent their concerns are not affiliated to any grouping. They are simply citizens with real issues that deserve to be listened to.

This is a world apart from the malign motivations and tactics of a hard core of fanatics. There is nothing wholesome about their intentions. Some are directed from outside of the State.

Their goal is to promote, exploit and weaponise feelings of alienation and foment instability and division. They are drawn to coalesce aggressively around any argument where they can mobilise a destructive energy.

Finding a reason to justify their actions comes after the fact and far too frequently after the harm has been done.

Everyone has a voice and the right to their view, but gardaí have expressed alarm at the levels of threats to politicians’ lives. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris ordered last year that cabinet ministers receive armed garda protection.

Let us not forget that the State emerged after a bitter civil war. Amid visceral political animosity, an unarmed Garda Síochána was able to maintain the peace because community respect for law and order superseded all else.

Those who put themselves forward for public service and represent our best interests must be afforded protection.

Migrants whom we have pledged to protect must also be free of threat and be treated fairly.