According to the general secretary of the Association of Sergeants and Inspectors of the Garda Síochána, Gardaí feel “abandoned” when it comes to policing anti-immigrant protests.
Speaking to journalists outside Garda Headquarters in Dublin, Antoinette Cunningham said it was “extremely urgency” for Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to meet with the AGSI to discuss their concerns.
Ms Cunningham previously said the organization had written to Commissioner Harris about monitoring anti-immigration protests.
She said this afternoon that if the AGSI does not receive a response to its request to meet with Commissioner Harris by the end of the day, the association’s national board will be asked to meet next week.
“Don’t forget that we that we are the middle ranking officers who have to deploy members of garda rank out to these situations and we know that they are not adequately trained to deal with them,” Ms Cunningham said, reports RTE.
“I’m not sure when a member of AGSI had training last in the Incitement to Hatred Act, I don’t know if some members have ever been trained in it, I don’t know if some members are fully aware of what their powers are and these are exactly the kinds of gaps that we need the Garda Commissioner to fill in for us,” Ms Cunningham added, reports RTE.
Earlier this week, Commissioner Harris assured Attorney General Simon Harris that he has the staff and resources to monitor anti-immigration protests.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Cunningham said that “the very real questions” for the Garda Commissioner are what decision-making model Garda Síochána management applies to protests in these cases.
Ms Cunningham said the risk of an increase in violence “has to be seen as real”.
“There has been a 29% increase in reported hate crimes in 2022. We saw that from the Police Authority report last month. We know that the thin blue line is getting thinner by the day,” she said, reports RTE.
Responding to the comments, the Taoiseach said he could not speak for the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána but accepted that appropriate responses had been provided by Gardaí.
Union leader Ivana Bacik said the protests showed the failure of government policies to secure large-scale shelters.
Speaking to Claire Byrne on RTÉ Today, she described the blockade in the Inch as unacceptable.
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