Gardaí 'bore the brunt of public anger over public health restrictions'
An anti-lockdown protest in Dublin in October 2020. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie
Gardaí have been subjected “to sustained injury and endured abuse and harassment in simply doing their job” during the pandemic.
That is according to the interim general secretary of the Garda Representative Association, Philip McAnenly.
In addressing the association’s conference in Killarney, Mr McAnenly said: “In the Covid pandemic, our members have continued to attend work in a most challenging environment. Early in 2021, we saw the public begin to lose patience and become frustrated with the public health restrictions.
He added: “Members were subjected to sustained injury and endured abuse and harassment in simply doing their job. The images of a rocket being fired at head height into a line of gardaí on Grafton Street in February 2021 gained national and international attention. The scenes where members were shouted at, assaulted, spat at and generally abused with no respect for social distancing guidelines brought home the unpredictability and the dangers associated with policing.”
He raised concerns that gardaí were not among the earlier cohorts to be vaccinated, despite being on the frontline.
During the pandemic, Garda units have been reduced from five to four to increase the number of personnel on each shift.
Mr McAnenly said the roster has been favoured by GRA members, and he added: “The GRA has been successful in ensuring that the emergency roster continues at least until the 23rd of January 2022.”
Meanwhile, delegates at the conference voted to call on Justice Minister Helen McEntee to introduce new legislation for emergency response Garda drivers who are required to respond to incidents.
The motion, brought by the Westmeath branch, requests the legislation would “provide a legal framework that takes into account their advanced level of training, experience, and the nature of the incident being responded to and protect drivers should an incident occur”.
Deputy GRA president Brendan O’Connor said gardaí responding to emergency calls are judged on the same standards as ordinary drivers, despite their advanced training.
He added: “I am not saying that gardaí should not be held accountable." But he said: “The pendulum is swinging so far in terms of oversight.”
The Westmeath branch also brought a motion seeking a review of Garda policy in relation to forensic collision investigators. Clifford Harding told fellow delegates there were currently 41 forensic collision investigators in divisions across the country. He said there needed to be a clear role definition and policy for forensic collision investigation.
