The editor of one of the country’s largest news photo agencies says that protests against the government’s immigration policies are being ignored by national newspapers because “they seem to think, if we ignore it, it will go away”.
At least 500 protests against centres for migrants have taken place across the country according to Gardaí, with 24/7 rolling protests now organised in many towns such as Roscea and Fermoy, while thousands have also marched in Dublin city centre opposing government’s handling of the issue.
Rolling News editor, Eamonn Farrell, was speaking to Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live programme in a discussion around the protection of news photographers and their work after the Gardaí using a warrant to ensure images they wanted for their investigations were handed over.
He said that he was concerned about “the number of protests taking place in Dublin covered by photographers and I’m sure reporters as well that never make it into the national newspapers.”
“Some of the national newspaper seem to think, if we ignore it, it will go away” he said. “But it’s not going away, its growing.”
He highlighted a recent protest in Naas in which around 300 people marched from town to a proposed new Ukrainian centre, and said that while his agency covered it, “there wasn’t a single word in the in the newspapers about it.”
Mr Farrell said that building which are supposed to be allocated to refugees “are being burnt down … we have a serious problem, and staying quiet about it is certainly not going to help.”
Sarah O’Donnell who took part in the Naas protest, told Gript that she was “not surprised” at Mr Farrell’s comments and said that she believed there was a “deliberate policy to ignore the hundreds of protests around the country.”
“He’s absolutely right: it feels like the media want to play down the public’s oppositon all the time,” she said. “They don’t come down and ask people why we’re upset, why we’re protesting, what our concerns are – even though a huge majority in the country feel the same.”
“It’s why people don’t trust the media either,” she said. “They are trying to ignore the problem, he’s absolutely right there.”
Speaking on the issue of being forced to hand over images to Gardaí, Mr Farrell said he had no choice but to hand the photos of the Dublin Riot over after he was served with a warrant.
“They arrived…at an appointed time to our office in the Digital Hub and under protest we had to hand over the images we took on that night,” he said.
“I was very reluctant to do it but to be honest this was the fifth time I’ve had to do it under protest.
“I do feel that the role of visual journalists as objective and independent recorders of events without fear or favour is being undermined by the Garda’s insistence of doing this.”
Mr Farrell said he believed the situation could make photographers targets in the future.