Gardaí to 'press' minister on violent attacks

Frontline gardaí say violence in Ballyfermot reinforces the need for task force

A screengrab from the violent incident in Ballyfermot.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) will “press home” the urgent need to set up a special task force to deal with violence against gardaí when it meets Justice Minister Simon Harris on Monday.

The GRA also wants the task force to deal with rising resignations from the organisation and worsening morale among members on the frontline.

The staffing problem in the organisation is reflected in figures just published showing there are now 14,125 gardaí, compared to 14,539 this time two years ago.

The GRA, which represents rank and file gardaí, wrote to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin over five weeks ago calling for the establishment of a special task force.

To date, the Government has not indicated it would consider the request, but Minister Harris did agree to meet the GRA on Monday to talk about their concerns.

“The GRA will press home the urgent need for a special task force with the minister,” said association president Brendan O’Connor.

“This has been underlined again by the recent violence in the Ballyfermot and Dublin Metropolitan West Region, one of the divisions that has been worst hit by the recent rise in resignations.” 

Ballyfermot violence

Since the initial letter was sent, there have been further incidents of violence against gardaí, including, most dramatically, in Ballyfermot a week ago, when a garda was struck by a missile to the side of his head.

The garda was catapulted by the blow, while his partner drew his baton to keep a large group of males, both juvenile and adults, from jumping on them.

Both gardaí had to duck several times to dodge other objects hurled at them.

In what was a marauding crime spree, the 50-plus-strong group, many of them on scramblers and quad bikes, turned the busy Kylemore Road into their own racing track.

One of their scramblers injured a woman crossing the road, the incident which prompted the attack on the two gardaí, who went to try and retrieve the scrambler in question, which the driver had left on the ground.

The group came back and forcibly grabbed the bike away from the gardaí during the assault on them, depriving them of a potential exhibit in any investigation of the injury to the woman.

The group tore up a large green in the middle of the roundabout at Kylemore and obstructed traffic.

'Under siege'

Local councillors believe gardaí were “overwhelmed” by the level and intensity of the anti-social behaviour and criminality.

Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan said people on Kylemore road were “terrified” and that they felt “under siege”.

Figures reported in the Irish Examiner last week showed that the strength of Ballyfermot Garda Station has fallen by 25% over the last ten years, from 93 to 69.

Gardaí say the issues of violence against gardaí are compounded by the crisis in recruitment and retention in the organisation, with overall garda numbers dropping from 14,539 in January 2021 to 14,125 in January 2023.

The Policing Authority has said that 1,500 fewer gardaí were recruited during the covid pandemic than otherwise would have happened.