Gardaí cannot 'stand back and tolerate' level of abuse thrown at them

When asked his opinion on new guidelines for gardaí involved in high-speed chases, the president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said the current guidelines were not fit for purpose

Brendan O'Connor welcomed proposals before Cabinet for higher sentences for attacks on gardaí and emergency service workers. Picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said gardaí “are not going to fall into the trap” of over-responding to far-right protests.

Mr Harris said gardaí have to be careful to make sure their response to protests is “proportionate”.

Brendan O’Connor, president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), has said that while he shares the views of the Garda Commissioner, he warned that there would come a time when gardaí could not stand back and tolerate the level of abuse being thrown at them.

“The Guards have a long tradition of finding the right point in relation to the use of force,” he said.

While he did share Mr Harris’s observations, he warned that there comes a point where gardaí could not “stand back and tolerate the levels of abuse that has been thrown at them and cameras pointed in their faces. So that's kind of the element that we would be concerned with”.

Mr O’Connor also welcomed proposals before Cabinet for higher sentences for attacks on gardaí and emergency service workers.

When asked his opinion on new guidelines for gardaí involved in high-speed chases, Mr O’Connor said the current guidelines were not fit for purpose.

He said that any acknowledgment or any move towards trying to create some disincentives against assaults on members is welcome but they do not believe that it is enough.

“We have always called for a mandatory custodial sentence for attacks and we have seen in relation to all legislation and all statutes available that the maximum sentence is something that's very, very rarely applied in any case," Mr O'Connor told Newstalk Breakfast.

"So we'll wait to see if it has any impact. And certainly, it's welcomed that the Government acknowledges the problem, but it's not what we would have asked for."

High-speed chases

When asked his opinion on new guidelines for gardaí involved in high-speed chases, Mr O’Connor said the current guidelines were not fit for purpose.

“What we have is a protocol, a system brought into place which is designed to manage pursuits, but really the foundations aren't there to underpin the policy document because we don't have trained drivers, we don't have the systems in place.

“A lot of what we have is lifted from the UK or multiple jurisdictions where we have live links from technology and cameras and cars, where we have properly trained drivers, where we have quite high-powered police vehicles. So the model really isn't applicable to the standard of driving available."

Mr O'Connor said that traffic pursuits are one of the highest-risk activities that gardaí can be involved in and said each individual is accountable for their decision-making in those high-stakes situations.

He said there needed to be a better balance between the standards to which gardaí were being held and the obligation to bring offenders to account.