Gardaí ‘ill-equipped to deal with rioters’

RANK-AND-FILE gardaí yesterday compared the force’s preparations for Saturday’s protests with the May Day demonstrations in 2004.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said gardaí on the front line for the riots in Dublin did not have the level of protection accorded to colleagues for the EU accession demonstrations in May 2004.

The GRA highlighted a number of specific security concerns regarding the weekend’s operations: