Gardaí being harassed on social media
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors said photographs of gardaí were being put up on social media sites looking for their names and addresses and where their children went to school.
“We have an operation in place in relation to a number of recent incidents where members of the public, including members of An Garda Siochana, were harassed both on social media and in person,” said Ms O’Sullivan.
Speaking at the AGSI annual conference in Trim, Co Meath, the commissioner said the investigations were continuing.
The association’s president Tim Galvin thanked the commissioner for taking on board the issue after he wrote to her about it.
“Photographs have been taken of gardaí and put up on social media, looking for the name, and the address of the gardaí and where the families are going to school — that sort of intimidation,” Mr Galvin said.
He had earlier accused the commissioner of treating the association, which represents 2,400 sergeants and inspectors, with “disdain” and as a “nuisance”.
Ms O’Sullivan rejected the claim: “Well, absolutely not. I don’t see any of our members as a nuisance and I think I’m on record from the very first day saying that we will engage with all of our people in a very constructive way.”
On the matter on falling garda numbers, she said: “It’s something we’re cognisant of. In order for us to remain at standstill we need 325 recruits a year. I’m very confident recruitment will continue and we will see numbers increase.”
In relation to calls at the conference for more armed gardaí in Dublin and Cork, she said: “ It’s something we are very conscious of in terms of looking at our armed response capability and not just in those urban centres but right across the organisation.”
On firearms training, she said: “Tactical training was being looked at specific- ally in the context of the Garda’s armed response capability.
“We are looking at appropriate training to ensure people are perfectly competent and capable of carrying firearms in a variety of circumstances.”
She confirmed the investigation into Sophie Toscan Du Plantier’s murder was still live.
“It absolutely is. And, again, I am very much conscious in that particular case the du Plantier family are a bereaved family.
“And certainly it is a matter of regret to An Garda Siochana that over the last number of years nobody has been brought to justice for that crime. But it remains an ongoing, live and open investigation.”
Ms O’Sullivan said the Dwyer case highlighted the “professionalism, dedication and commitment” of An Garda Siochana, particularly the investigation team in Blackrock.
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