Gerry Hutch says he will not be ‘tormenting’ voters as campaign gets under way

Gerry “The Monk” Hutch has said he will not be “tormenting people on the doors” in his campaign for the Dublin Central by-election.

Mr Hutch, who has been described in court as the patriarchal figurehead of the Hutch criminal organisation, attended a public meeting on Wednesday evening calling for more support for children with special educational needs.

Asked why he was attending the meeting, Mr Hutch told the Press Association: “I’m here to give them support”

“It’s not only special needs children, it’s how (the Government) treat the whole country,” he said.

“The Children’s Hospital is a national disgrace.”

Mr Hutch said his campaign is officially beginning on Thursday but will be “kicked off online”.

“It’ll be posters and all that going out,” he said.

“I don’t believe in tormenting people on the doors for eight or 10 weeks.

“We’ll be just doing it on the street, a couple of door knocking, not too many.”

Asked why he believed the Dublin Central electorate should vote for him he said: “Well, they have a choice, and the people around this constituency have asked me to run, so they’re going to vote for me, and if other people want to give me their second, third or fourth, so be it.

“I’m here and I’m running. If I get in, I get in, if I don’t, I don’t.”

Also in attendance at the forum organised by Save Our SNAs and Equality in Education at the National Handball Alley in Dublin, was Sinn Fein’s candidate Janice Boylan and party President Mary Lou McDonald.

Other candidates who addressed the crowd included Ray McAdam (Fine Gael candidate and Lord Mayor of Dublin), Eoghan O Ceanabhain (People Before Profit), Daniel Ennis (Social Democrat), Ruth O’Dea (Labour), Colm Flood (Independent) and Janet Horner (Green Party).

In February, a review of how special needs assistants are allocated at schools across Ireland was paused after it caused concern and outrage among parents, teachers and SNAs.

The number of SNAs at around 580 schools was reviewed by the NCSE, and a third were told that the number of SNAs at their school would be reduced from September.

The Government agreed not to reduce the number of SNAs at any schools from September, but in schools where the NCSE said more SNAs were needed, they will be allocated.

Save Our SNAs had a pledge for the prospective TD’s to sign which committed to supporting “a right’s based, inclusive and properly resourced special education system with strong SNA supports for children and young people who need them”.

Mr McAdam said he would not be signing the pledge because in his 17 years of running in elections he had never signed a pledge “no matter how much I may have agreed with it, but I don’t, and I’m not going to start, I believe in honest commitment and real delivery”.

Ms Boylan said her nine-year-old son is neurodivergent and “would not be able to go to school without his SNA”.

She said: “The government is sleepwalking into September, where families will have no place to send their children.

“This isn’t just a failure of planning, it’s a failure of compassion.”

Mr Flood told the meeting that he and his sister had SNAs at school, despite not having special educational needs, to support the pair when he adopted her at age 19 following their mothers death.

“If it wasn’t for my SNA when I was in school and my sister’s SNA, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” he said.

Mr Hutch said he spoke to teachers before the meeting and was “shocked” that some children with special needs did not have school places.

He said if it was his child he would “be down there kicking ass, that’s what I would be doing”.

“And if I get elected, I will be doing everything in my power to do that.”