Gardaí should “take the gloves off” against the “army of thugs” behaving violently in protest against asylum seekers, according to Paul Williams.

The Irish Independent journalist was one of many to spend time in Coolock in the past week – and believes the attacks on Gardaí during violent unrest in the north Dublin suburb should be a turning point

“They claim that they are worried about the community and they spread this racist, poisonous ideology through the sewers of social media [with] lies and misinformation,” he told The Pat Kenny Show.

“Then they attract - like flies around a cow’s backside - this little army of thugs who are just there for recreation, who are just there to beat up the police.

“They have been allowed to get out of control because we have lost control over immigration into this country.

“When you see the proliferation and erection of these glorified tented shanty towns around Dublin, it shows that they’ve lost control.”

Gardaí respond to the violent unrest in Coolock. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews

Mr Williams said a civil servant who works for the International Protection Office recently told him the entire system has “collapsed”.

He said people are aware of this and have become increasingly angry.

“The people who take the brunt of all of this are the refugees and the asylum seekers - and particularly the Gardaí,” he said.

“It has just escalated out of all control.

“We have all these good people in Coolock saying, ‘We want some consultations on this’, then you have these far-right, knuckle-dragging, conspiracy theory spouting, fascist, wannabe Hitlers spreading their lies and their hatred – and they’re attracting these guys to come out and smash the place up for a bit of fun.”

Gardaí in Coolock. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie

Mr Williams said he does not believe Gardaí have enough resources to keep up with the demands of policing a “modern society”.

Despite this, he urged the Government to “grab the nettle” and deal firmly with those who use violence against Gardaí.

“From a law enforcement side of it, we need to take the gloves off,” he said.

“The vision of police being battered around and humiliated on the streets last week [with] no protective gear, it was a replication of what happened last November.

“All of that is feeding into an emboldening of these people whereby they say, ‘The Guards are screwed, they have no power, they won’t come near us, we can do what we like.’”

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said attacks on Gardaí in Coolock “must be met with the full rigours of the law”.

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Main image: Gardaí in Coolock. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell/© RollingNews.ie