Dublin riots review says gardaí urgently need new public order resources
The review was set up in the wake of the Dublin riots in November 2023 in the wake of an attack on Parnell Square East where five people were injured, including three young children. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA
New public order policies are urgently needed as gardaí still rely on protocol from 2017 despite major societal changes post-pandemic and the increasing influence of the internet on protests, a new review has found.
Low garda numbers are also a major concern for public order, identified in a newly published Policing Authority Review of Public Order Policing.
The review was requested by former justice minister Helen McEntee following the Dublin riots of November 2023 when a large mob descended on the capital with widespread arson and vandalism during which multiple gardaí were injured, with one officer losing a toe in the violence.
Sufficient garda numbers is the key influence on gardaí’s decision as to whether they can safely use force in public order incidents like riots, the review found, as inadequate garda numbers may be unable to cope with any resulting escalation of violence.
“Radical changes in the approach to retention and recruitment” to address low garda numbers is now needed, Elaine Byrne, the Policing Authority chairperson wrote in the review.
“There is no immediate prospect of Garda members rising above 14,000 in the short or medium term, despite the desire and the existing approval to recruit up to 15,000 Garda members,” she wrote.
“The current rate of intake of Garda members will mostly be offset through retirements and resignations, in addition to which the Garda Síochána will also face a retirement 'cliff' within the next five years, arising from accelerated recruitment undertaken in the late 1990s/early 2000s."
Public order policing is significantly funded through overtime, the review noted, so the creation of any standing public order units would by necessity draw from Garda numbers that are already stretched.
Gardaí have no public order training facility, and rely on part-time access to army facilities.
"Such a resource would also be useful for armed response training and driver training,” the report found.
The welfare of gardaí serving in public order must also be prioritised.
Although formal welfare systems are in place, the review found that management at regional and divisional levels need to consistently acknowledge the tough job of policing protests.
Less than half of the recommendations of the 2019 Garda Síochána Inspectorate Review have been implemented.
This earlier review identified poor governance and coordination of public order policing as the key risk faced by gardaí in relation to its performance in the area of public order policing.
“The Authority’s view is that this risk remains until these recommendations are implemented in full," the review stated.
However, the Policing Authority also found a marked improvement in equipment, protective uniforms, and vehicles, with some €3.2m invested since November 2023.
Additional vehicles have also been procured. But it found that issues remain around the coordination and distribution of resources nationally.
Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan said the review’s recommendations will be implemented.
Since the riots, public-order trained gardaí have increased from 200 to 700 in Dublin, Mr O’Callaghan said.
"We now have 1,500 gardaí personnel who are trained in public order policing. We have 700 of them in Dublin, that's a considerable rise," he told RTÉ.
"We've spent in the region of €2.7m on better body armour and we've also improved things like the strength of the pepper spray."
Two water cannon, 15 new public order vehicles, and 600 body-worn cameras have also been procured.
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