The killing of Det Garda Aidan Donohue was “despicable and utterly unforgivable” and one that emphasises the need to protect those working in frontline services.
This is the view of Labour’s Galway senator Lorraine Higgins who was speaking in Seanad Éireann this week about the shooting which took place in county Louth.
She said lessons needed to be learned from this and that Government attention must focus on “helping and supporting those working in frontline services”.
She said the State is “lucky to have 13,500 brave gardai” protecting and serving “in highly dangerous situations”. However, she added, that there are also paramedics, prison officers, fire-fighters, those working in A&E, and members of the civil defence as well.
“They might not have been subjected to such a barbaric act as Det Garda Donohue but who too often have also been victims of abuse,” she said. “These people are understated national heroes.”
Sen Higgins said such workers are “all too familiar with their specific occupational hazards” and it is imperative the Government “do everything it can” to protect people “forced into harm’s way because of their jobs”.
She said: “We need to adopt a policy of zero tolerance on those thugs who threaten the very essence of what these people do. While assaults against all citizens are illegal, we must prioritise the rights of these workers.”
