Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that protests outside his home are “unfair on his neighbours who didn't sign up to have a politician living next door”.
However, he said that he would be “reluctant” to legislate against preventing protests outside politicians’ homes.
As first reported by the Irish Mirror, a protest was held outside the Dublin City Centre home that Mr Varadkar shares with partner Dr Matt Barrett over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
READ MORE: Protesters gather outside Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's home
The demonstration was held by a group calling itself “Irish Communities Together” or “ICT”.
While they hung several flags outside the house, it was unclear what they were protesting.
During an interview with Virgin Media’s The Tonight Show, Mr Varadkar said that the protest was attended by a “small number of people for a short period of time”. He also said that he was rarely at home while these protests took place.
He said: “It doesn't bother me particularly personally. But [it is] a bit unfair on my neighbours who didn't sign up to have a politician living next door to them.”
When asked if he would legislate to stop the protests, Mr Varadkar said that he would be “very reluctant to”.
He continued: “It would already be the case that if you're protesting, for example, in somebody's garden, these are protests on a public street.
“If you start making it illegal for people to protest on a public street, I would be worried that would be a slippery slope towards restricting the right to protest. It is something we have to get right.
“We are going to do it around the whole issue of safe zones around hospitals.
“But I just think any Government that starts to crack down on people's right to protest in a public place, in a public area, despite the fact that I am one of the targets of it, I'm just a little bit nervous about going down that road.”
Virgin Media reported this week that the organisers of a drag show in Carlow had decided to cancel their event due to abuse received online.
Mr Varadkar said that while he understood why it was cancelled, it did “concern him”.
He said that there was a need to stand up to abuse on social media.
The Taoiseach explained: “I think the discourse in Ireland, the way we talk to each other and talk about each other, it has deteriorated.
“Some of that I think is related to the pandemic and the stress that people are under during that period.
“Some of it is, of course, amplified on social media. It's a real shame, but I think we have to stand up to it.”
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