Cork City Council has been told to up its game and protect its staff by the public service trade union Fórsa, amid claims of “harassment and intimidation” towards library staff.
The union is threatening the council with industrial action over failing to provide a safe working environment amid a series of ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ protests at Cork Central Library since March.
A group entered the Central Library on Grand Parade before proceeding to rip up a copy of This Book is Gay by trans author Juno Dawson, which was also live-streamed on social media.
Since then, protestors have frequented the library, confronting staff and subjecting them to intimidation and slurs such as “paedophile”.
Councillor John Maher, who tabled a motion of support for library staff in March, said, “The people who are protesting need to remember that while everyone has a right to peaceful protest, they need to be respectful, and you can’t video people, and you can’t shout slurs, because at the end of the day, there’s an ordinary worker, an ordinary person, at the receiving end of your rage.”
A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed that Gardaí in Cork are investigating an incident of criminal damage and said, “An Garda Síochána continues to liaise with officials of Cork City Council in relation to these incidents.”
He also said, “There is a constitutional right to the freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, subject to statutory provisions. An Garda Síochána respects the right for citizens to exercise their constitutional rights.”
