Ireland is considering a ban on wearing balaclavas and other face coverings at protests, the Irish Independent reported.
According to the report, Justice Minister Helen McEntee is examining legal advice from Attorney General Rossa Fanning on the modalities of introducing such legislation.
The proposed legislation aims to prohibit protesters from wearing masks with the intention of intimidating others and preventing gardai from identifying them if they are commit crimes.
Balaclava-wearing demonstrators have regularly featured in violent protests that erupted recently against the location of asylum centers.
Last month, violent unrest broke out in the Coolock area of north Dublin, where masked demonstrators threw projectiles at gardai under the garb of protesting against a proposed asylum centre in a former paint factory.
Mask-wearing demonstrators also featured in Dublin’s worst riots in decades in last November, where they looted business on O’Connell Street and set fire to Luas carriages following an attack on children outside a creche in the city centre.