Dublin policing committee hails gardaí for safe St Patrick's weekend

A huge crowd outside the Temple Bar pub in Dublin City centre, as members of the public gathered to celebrate after the St Patrick's Day parade. Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

Dublin’s top policing committee has praised An Garda Síochána for providing a safe St Patrick’s Day weekend.

Just over 430 people were arrested across the region over the five-day period, Garda figures show.

Most of the offences were public order offences, followed by theft and drug offences, Dublin City Joint Policing Committee heard.

Assistant Commissioner for Dublin, Anne-Marie Cagney, said that more than 2,100 Garda personnel were deployed on St Patrick's Day and night with a dedicated policing operation on public transport, for what was the first festival since 2019.

She said there was a focus on seizure of alcohol and public drinking and ensuring the day was “family-friendly”.

She said good co-operation was obtained from some off-licences to refrain from selling alcohol before 4pm and that this “significantly assisted” in the policing of St Patrick’s Day.

Assistant Commissioner Cagney said the 434 arrests this year were mainly made up of public order offences (165), theft (71), and drugs (32).

'Very welcome' policing response

She said that the offences detected were in the context of around 400,000 people in the city, adding that, compared to previous years, there was a “very welcome” policing response this year.

The busiest divisions were Dublin North Central and Dublin South Central, with 94 and 140 offences, respectively.

Councillor Daithí Doolan, representing Drimnagh-Ballyfermot, commended the policing response and said he witnessed how gardaí tackled public drinking in a “supportive manner”.

Councillor Caroline Conroy, Ballymun-Finglas, said she got the bus from Ballymun into town last Saturday and that gardaí came on board to ensure people were not drinking.

She said it was well-received and there was a “bit of banter”.

John Downey, Dublin City Council event manager, said there was a “great feeling of safety” over the five days and credited the Garda seizure of alcohol and prevention of public drinking.

Richard Guiney of business group Dublin Town said it was “immensely safe” in the city and said their cameras recorded a footfall of 317,000 people, the highest since 2017.

In her report, Assistant Commissioner Cagney said burglaries were up 23% on the year to the end of last month. She said that while they were not yet at pre-pandemic levels, they were “getting there”.

Rise in robberies

The figures show rises in robberies (up 20%), robberies from the person (up 18%), assaults causing harm (up 32%), and minor assaults (up 43%).

She said that while the number of drug supply offences were down, the value of seizures was up.

She said an operation targeting drug-related intimidation showed there were 467 incidents in 2021, with 61 incidents in January and February this year.

She said 63 charges were brought last year and 33 already this year so far.

Mr Doolan welcomed those figures as it showed more people reporting. He said there is still a “lack of confidence” in gardaí in certain communities, where there is “almost lawlessness”, where gangs peddle drugs and operate a regime of violence.

Adrian Cummins of the Restaurants Association of Ireland flagged an issue involving the safety of people, particularly lone women, trying to get home safely in taxis after a night out.