Micheal Martin has hit back at “incoherent” protestors who interrupted his opening address at a neutrality conference in UCC with their “disruptive efforts.”
But he also conceded that student protests are acceptable because “the very purpose of being a student is being open to different views.”
The Tánaiste was the keynote speaker at the Government’s opening of the four day Consultative Forum on International Security Policy in his hometown of Cork.
Read More: Gareth Kelly's heartbroken family react as killer Christina Anderson jailed
The first day got off to a lively start when members of the Connolly Youth Movement heckled Mr Martin, causing him to stop his speech.
The young protestors unfurled red banners with slogans including one reading “Nato wars millions dead” and chanted loudly “No to Nato.”
Gardai removed the protestors from the Boole theatre after a couple of minutes.
Mr Martin spoke to reporters about the protest after the first session of the forum broke for morning coffee.
He said: “I’m a democrat, I believe in free speech, I believe in peaceful protest as well, but I also believe that we people should allow others to speak and I think the efforts this morning were efforts to disrupt the flow of the consultative forum and not to allow it get off the ground.”
Mr Martin added: “I think a lot of what was being said was incoherent, quite frankly.
“It was not evidence-based, I think Ireland has a very proud record in international affairs.”
Despite slamming the student interruptions, the Tanaiste said that student debate is something he is supportive of.
He said: “University presidents and others are very fearful of debates on campus.
“To me, the very purpose of being a student is to be open to different views and to different perspectives, but to have that then in a respectful way.
“And that’s something for the future of our democracy that we need to respect.
“It’s not cancel culture, I think it’s people with a particular viewpoint on the world saying that nobody else can have another viewpoint, or nobody else can come to a forum and articulate another viewpoint, that would be my view.”
