New rosters will 'enhance' policing, says senior garda

Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis said garda staff associations are due to meet Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on Tuesday to try and resolve a dispute over the reintroduction of the pre-covid rosters.

A senior Garda has said new rosters will not decrease community policing or the work of specialist units but will actually “enhance” frontline policing.

Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis told a Dublin City Council Joint Policing Committee that garda staff associations are due to meet Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on Tuesday to try and resolve a dispute over the reintroduction of the pre-covid rosters across the country on November 6.

The Committee made a decision to write to the commissioner to seek a meeting to highlight the concerns of communities and seek engagement with community representatives.

Calling for such a letter, Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan said he had been told by local gardaí that community policing, drug units and special task forces will be hit.

Other councillors shared the concerns, particularly in relation to community gardaí, which they stressed was a major benefit for local areas.

All the councillors expressed serious concern over levels of anti-social behaviour and aggression in the city centre.

AC Willis moved to assuage councillors regarding their concerns, saying there would be no “diminution” of community policing or the work of drug units or domestic violence units.

The head of policing in Dublin said frontline policing will actually be “enhanced” as it will mean more gardaí at times of peak demand, instead of an equal number of gardaí being deployed at all times.

She said that while the roster was not ideal it was the only agreed roster in place.

Garda morale

Fianna Fáil Councillor Deirdre Heney expressed concern for the morale of gardaí on the ground if the roster was introduced and asked AC Willis “to listen to what we are saying” and take their message back to the commissioner.

Committee chair, Social Democrats councillor Tara Deacy said she would write to the commissioner to seek a meeting.

Separately, AC Willis said gardaí policed 419 protests up until September 20 this year, compared to 307 protests in 2022 and 395 in 2021.

She said 16 protests required arrests to be made and that 33 were carried out in total, including 13 at last Wednesday’s protest outside the Dáil on Kildare Street.

She pointed out that, apart from one garda, no one was injured by protesters. She added that the public order unit showed huge restraint in “physically removing” people who had gathered at the gates of Government Buildings on Merrion Street.

All the councillors praised the actions of gardaí on the day, but Cllr Doolan said he likened the policy of Garda management towards "far right" agitators as one of “containment and appeasement”.