Gardaí warn of ‘zero tolerance’ for protests as thousands of officers prepare for security operation
An Garda Siochana put in road closures around the Convention Centre in Dublin ahead of the upcoming meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) on Thursday. Picture: Niall Carson/Press Association
There will be “zero tolerance” for protests that block infrastructure or disrupt the movements of political leaders over the next four days, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has warned, as gardaí prepare for the largest security operation in the history of the State.
There will be 15,000 12-hour tours of duty by gardaí as around 50 heads of state arrive in Dublin for the European Political Community (EPC) meeting on Thursday, November 12, and an informal gathering of leaders on Friday, November 13.
Commissioner Kelly said there would be “absolutely no toleration for any blockage, anything in the next few days, anything around motorways, critical infrastructure, or any of the EPC locations”.
He acknowledged that a number of protests are planned during the two events, but said gardaí would facilitate peaceful demonstrations.
“What I would say very generally is we always facilitate peaceful protest. If there's any protest that moves into the criminal area, of course we will deal with it swiftly,” he said.
“We cannot have any situation where there's a disruption to any of the events themselves, to any of the delegates. There's a huge amount of press coming to the country as well. So we obviously we won't tolerate any interruption to any of that.”
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The Commissioner said gardaí would implement a robust policing plan and make arrests if necessary, although he hoped that would not be required.
The scale of the operation will see close to the full Garda complement of approximately 14,000 officers involved in operational duties, with additional personnel working across the extensive security arrangements.
More than 100 advanced escort-trained Garda motorcyclists and over 200 motorcycle security escorts will operate in the capital. Some 500 public order gardaí will be deployed on each day, alongside more than 500 armed gardaí and trained close protection officers on Thursday and Friday.
An Extraordinary Event has been declared from Tuesday, November 10, until Saturday, November 14, to cover the period surrounding the political gatherings.
The operation has been planned over several months and is the centrepiece of the security arrangements for Ireland's six-month presidency of the EU, which began last July.
Despite the scale of the deployment, gardaí have said there will be no reduction in day-to-day policing services.
More than 35,000 hot meals will be provided to Garda personnel across nine catering locations during the operation.
Commissioner Kelly also acknowledged that the threat of hybrid attacks on Irish infrastructure remains extant, but declined to outline the perceived extent of that threat.
He said gardaí were prepared for every eventuality, including potential disruption to the events.
“Naturally we hope that the two events will go smoothly and there won't be any interruption to them. But we have to be ready for every eventuality, and I certainly think we are in relation to the equipment, the training, the people, our plans,” he said.
The Commissioner said the policing operation would cost “tens of millions” of euro, but that it was currently “running under budget”.
The overall allocation for the security operation will come from the €125m provided by the Government to meet Garda requirements during Ireland's six-month EU presidency.
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