A former Assistant Garda Commissioner has said that it should not take a crisis, such as the violent riots in Dublin city centre late last year, for the force to be fully resourced to ensure that Gardaí get what they need. So, amid calls for a permanent public order unit and other measures, what policing proposals are now in the pipeline for the future?
In the wake of the violent riots that ignited in Dublin city centre last November, the Department of Justice and the Garda Commissioner faced major criticism and were under serious pressure to take action in a bid to ensure that frontline workers are prepared and protected in the event of similar incidents in the future.
During the violence that unfolded in the aftermath of the stabbing of three children and a creche worker on Parnell Street on 23 November 2023, Dublin City Council estimates almost €20m worth of damage was done. A Luas and a bus were set on fire, shops were looted, Garda cars were destroyed and numerous Gardaí were injured, with 12 assaults involving an injured Garda recorded in the PULSE system that night.
Former Assistant Garda Commissioner Dr Jack Nolan told ‘Emergency Services Ireland’ that the riots were met with a “tough” response, which included “borrowing two PSNI water cannons, plans to buy our own water cannons, the proposed issuing of tasers, facial recognition technology to be introduced and a whole package of other measures.”
However, he said that the “calls for a ‘get tough’ approach have to be balanced” and added that Garda numbers must be “significantly enhanced, operationally, in terms of capacity, numbers, resources and equipment”.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, who has said he will not resign amid calls for him to step down, told the Oireachtas justice committee on November 29 that following the violence in the city centre, additional personal safety equipment would be purchased and more gardaí would get public order training, in addition to the 100 added to the public order unit in Dublin this year.
There are plans for all gardaí to be armed with stronger incapacitant (pepper) spray, which was previously only given to public order, armed support and emergency response units. Public order unit gardaí are to be issued with 200 tasers – “subject to successful training and accreditation,” Harris said.
