Garda response to fuel protests to be discussed at public meeting of PCSA in East Cork

Ms Byrne and her team visited 17 of the 56 Garda stations across Co Cork to prepare for the meeting.

This included speaking with gardaí immediately after policing the recent fuel protests.

“This is the first opportunity that the [Garda] Commissioner has to talk about these matters in public and be questioned in public on them,” said Ms Byrne.

“[Today] is going to be a good opportunity for the commissioner to outline the various decisions that were made around [policing] the protests.”

Disinformation included fake video of gardaí 

Disinformation, misinformation, and AI-doctored footage of the protests — some shared by international far-right agitators — amplified unrest at the time. Gardaí were targeted in online campaigns, with the identities and home addresses of some officers shared online, with calls to target them and “run them out of their communities”.

“It’s very distressing for gardaí, who are just doing their job, to be ‘doxxed’ like that,” Ms Byrne said.

“I spoke to the commissioner about this last week, and I know he’s very concerned.”

AI (artificial intelligence) is of particular concern because of the potential for misinformation and manipulation, she added.

“The objective of the [PCSA] is to oversee the performance of the gardaí, and if there are elements of their working day that are made more difficult by such technologies, then those are things that — I would imagine — would have to be considered by both the [Garda] Commissioner and the Oireachtas,” Ms Byrne said.

'Distressing' to be targeted

“Gardaí already have a difficult job to do and it's very distressing to think that somebody turning up for a shift is now a focus, a targeted focus of attention by elements that seek to destroy their reputation and destroy their ability to do their job."

Improvements to public order policing, introduced after the Dublin riots in November 2023, were noticeable in the Garda response to the fuel protests, said Ms Byrne.

Equipment available to gardaí has improved and a clearer command structure is now in place for gardaí responding to public order incidents.

“From our discussions with those police stations and officers, it seems that public order policing has vastly improved," Ms Byrne said.

“Improvements in equipment include the headgear they have now and the armour that they wear. The pepper spray has been increased as well.

“And there’s that command structure, who's in charge and what they're going to do.” 

Domestic violence 

Responding to domestic violence in rural Ireland will also be a focus of Thursday’s PCSA meeting.

“There’s a different dimension to domestic violence in rural rather than in urban Ireland. People can tend to be more isolated and perhaps it's more hidden and they don't have access to the same kind of services,” Ms Byrne said. 

The PCSA met with support services for victims and survivors of domestic abuse on Wednesday ahead of the meeting.

There are concerns about whether gardaí at the front desks of Garda stations are adequately trained to deal with people who come forward to disclose their experiences of domestic abuse, Ms Byrne said.

"How that person is received by the guard is so important," she said.

“The Garda Inspectorate report revealed some worrying things about how guards handle domestic violence, that there can be an inconsistent treatment of victims. 

'Not everywhere for everyone'

The gardaí do provide a good service but it's not everywhere for everyone. It can depend on what Garda station you go to. It can depend on what garda you deal with.

“It takes courage to come forward and they really rely on that first response. And if they get a negative response, they may not be inclined to come back.

“We've seen in Women's Aid figures, but also in the Garda Inspectorate figures, that about one in two victims reported dissatisfaction with how their case was handled. And 48% of people were unhappy with the initial response by gardaí."

Further training is needed for frontline gardaí responding to domestic abuse, she said.

“And domestic violence is not just about intimate partners, but it's also intergenerational abuse. And that can refer to family disputes over land, boundaries and money, drug intimidation."

The meeting at My Place Community Centre in Midleton on Thursday will be "a really good opportunity for the garda commissioner and the [garda] leadership team to hear the concerns about what's happening in Cork", Ms Byrne said.

• The PCSA public meeting in Midleton Co Cork today is being livestreamed on the PCSA's website and its YouTube channel.