GRA head: Gardaí need more resources to counter dissidents

GARDAÍ are not as well equipped to deal with the threat from dissident republicans as their counterparts in the North, according to the president of the organisation which represents the 11,500 rank and file members of the force.

Garda Representative Association (GRA) president Damien McCarthy told Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan that frontline members of the force weren’t adequately equipped to counter the threat from dissidents and drug gangs.

“They are organised criminal gangs building resources when ours are being reduced. While our colleagues north of the border (PSNI) have received nearly €300 million in additional funding to counter this rising threat, the Garda budget is reduced,” the GRA president said. “We are all too aware the dissident factions need funding; much of it gathered through organised crime here.”

He said the political rhetoric about bringing a full and lasting peace to the North had to be matched with practical resourcing and special operations targeting dissident republicans.

“We believe we need proper resources and we will do the job and remove the terror threat from this island forever,” he said.

Mr McCarthy said the sale of illegal drugs was the primary source of cash for organised criminal and terrorists.

The commissioner described the killing of Catholic PSNI officer Ronan Kerr as “an appalling, murderous and cowardly act” and said he had sought additional funds from the Department of Justice to fight the dissident threat.

Commissioner Callinan didn’t reveal how much money he had requested, but said he wanted to “maintain intense pressure” on those who sought to destroy peace on the island.

The commissioner acknowledged that those seeking to perpetrate attacks north of the border often receive logistical and other support from within the Republic.

The van carrying a massive bomb which was abandoned in Armagh last Friday had previously been stolen in Maynooth.

He said that in the past two years garda operations had resulted in the arrest of 180 suspected dissidents, 43 of whom had been charged in the courts.

“We have also seized component parts (of bombs) and explosive devices. These successes stem from the work of our members and they are to be commended,” Commissioner Callinan said.

“This important area of activity will continue to receive the highest priority into the future.”

The commissioner, who was speaking at the GRA’s 33rd annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo, said he was “very conscious” of the danger posed by dissidents, especially in relation to next month’s visit by Queen Elizabeth.

He said he “working very closely” with his PSNI counterparts and British security services to ensure her visit passed as peacefully as possible.