Currently in Ireland there are many problems with our justice system which all add up to the general public saying they don’t feel safe on the streets.

Garda Siochana need better pay and more resources to boast moral and help them fight crime on the streets of our cities. We must stop the practice of gardai spending hundreds of man hours investigating crimes and then watching the perpetrators with multiple previous convictions walk free from court with another suspended sentence.

We need more community policing to intervene in the lives of very young criminals so they don’t become the prisoners of the future. Gardai need more resources in areas with high rates of teenage antisocial behaviour to help the community create activities for those young people who are being encourages into life of crime.

We should also be utilising community service more for criminals who don’t pose a threat of violence to society. The idea that anybody would be sent to jail for not paying a bill or fine in 2024 is not progressive and a waste of tax payers money and jail spaces. These crimes should be dealt with by way of strict community service.

Hate Speech Bill:
It is absolutely crucial that everyone grasps the terrifying reality of what’s unfolding in Ireland. Our freedom, the freedom of the press, the freedom to express our views, the freedom to protest, and the freedom of speech are all under relentless assault. Our nation is undergoing a profound transformation, and the government, seemingly ignoring the very people who put them in power, is speeding towards an election where, regardless of the main political parties chosen in your vote, they all dance to the same tune or essentially exhibit the same level of disdain for the electorate. Social media and organisations such as Gript Media , along with select broadcasters like myself, are viewed as threats by the government. Not because we propagate falsehoods or disinformation, but because we dare to correct and balance the narrative and misrepresentations of the truth peddled by some of our elected representatives. Their only response is to wield a heavy-handed arsenal of discrediting, cancelling, silencing, and shutting down these alternative voices. Numerous instances abound, with Senator Malcolm Byrne recently singling out Gript Media baselessly, suggestion they should not be accredited by the press council and quoting guidelines suggesting they discriminate against minorities with no evidence of these accusations. Leo Varadkar himself, in a bid to control the narrative, suggested to a Gript Media reporter that they fact-check themselves regarding mainstream media myths surrounding immigration policy.

Despite the policy surrounding seeking asylum being in the first country of entry, Varadkar’s claims, including checking criminal records and the idea that Ireland maintains open borders, were debunked by Gript Meida, and other informed individuals, even within his own Government past and present. Going as far as contradicting his own opinions of the past.

A chilling future looms on the horizon where laws may soon be enacted to stifle alternate views, deeming them offensive or inciting hatred. The question arises, who gets to decide what views are offensive or incitement? Answer: The government of course, through appointed moral guardians committees and organisations, who will hold this power, deciding whether citizens are allowed to express their opinions or if the media can broadcast particular dissenting views or alternate viewpoints. Orwellian legislation, poised on the precipice of being signed by our president, threatens not only those who spread alternate viewpoints but even those who dare to think about them or prepare related content.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee provides a stark example by suggesting recently that you could be prosecuted for having a banner with alleged hateful slogans in your car trunk going to a protest if your car is searched by the Gardai. Home searches, device seizures, and prosecutions may follow, even if the material was never posted online or in public.

 Elected representatives, aware that this legislation contradicts democratic principles and infringes upon free speech, lack the courage to vote against it, fearing repercussions that might jeopardize their political standing and overpaid positions. As I observe my surroundings daily, it becomes painfully apparent that citizens, preoccupied with day-to-day life, are oblivious to the gravity of these regressive laws and controls imposed by both the government and the EU.

These laws will directly impact their ability to think critically, as they remain shielded from any dissenting information beyond the government-sanctioned narrative that they will be exposed to on main stream media or by mainstream press. To those currently fighting in Ireland, like myself, Gript Media , and a few others, and to those with international , we applaud your efforts.

Keep highlighting the implementation of these Orwellian laws on the international stage and continue to expose Ireland’s embarrassment. Most importantly, spread the word to those unaware of the dire situation, urging them to join the debate and resist laws and policies that threaten to strip away our freedoms to speak and express our views freely, turning Ireland into a country that even a communist society could only dream of.