Fórsa is due to meet representatives from An Garda Síochána next week to discuss protection measures for library staff amid the ongoing harassment by far-right agitators.

The union has repeatedly called on local authorities to protect their employees, and recently wrote to the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris seeking an urgent meeting regarding protective measures to be enacted to guard library workers from abuse and harassment in their workplace.

Fórsa has continued to meet with hundreds of library workers over the summer, who are experiencing this abuse and the union is also holding national online meetings which serve as safe spaces for members to share their recent experience.

At these meetings, the union has heard accounts of far-right agitators entering libraries demanding the removal of certain LGBTQ+ books. Much of this activity has led to the harassment and intimidation of library workers in their workplace as they are subjected to vile slurs whilst being videoed on camera phones and live streamed, even when workers expressly object to being recorded and/or streamed.

Fórsa says this activity, with the added dimension of hate as a motivating factor, and the wider impact of such hatred on entire communities, must be fully investigated and perpetrators held to account by the gardaí.

Head of Local Government and Local Services Richy Carrothers said, “These informative sessions are absolutely essential in framing the union’s response to this concerning issue, as we hear first-hand about the problems being experienced by library staff.”

“This exercise, coupled with the continuous updates from local authorities, keeps us informed and one step-ahead in developing appropriate mechanisms to combat this harassment and intimidation,” he said.

Fórsa has clearly stated that the failure of local authorities to protect their staff is a negligence of their responsibility as an employer under the Health and Safety at Work legislation.

The “Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work” deals specifically with bullying and includes bullying in the workplace by clients and customers.

Fórsa has already called on the senior management of local authorities to:

1. Conduct an independent health and safety risk assessment at libraries, on the threats from far-right groups entering the library. This should be conducted in consultation with our library members, local representatives, and officials
2. To engage with An Garda Síochána on emergency response measures, and
3. Update library bylaws and actively explore legal measures for the permanent exclusion of offenders including the use of injunctions and barring orders.

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