Dublin riots: Gardaí to get stronger pepper spray and more safety gear - Drew Harris

Gardaí are to get stronger pepper spray and more personal safety gear as the force “evolves” its tactics after last Thursday’s Dublin riots, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris will tell an Oireachtas committee today.

Mr Harris will attend the Justice Committee at 1.30pm amid ongoing pressure and scrutiny after the riots, which followed a violent attack on a group of schoolchildren and their carer in the city centre.

In an opening statement to be delivered to the committee, he will say that following the largest ever deployment of public order gardaí, order was restored within hours and argue that in similar situations in other capital cities “normal society [has been] shut down for days”.

However, he will concede that there is now a “different form of disorder”, telling the committee that “we must evolve our tactics to address this”.

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In addition to meeting the Garda representative associations and holding reviews of the riot, Mr Harris will say there will be more gardaí given public order training in addition to the 100 added to the public order unit in Dublin this year.

[ Dublin riots ‘were trigger’ for French far-right protests, says expert ]

“We will be providing gardaí with even stronger incapacitant spray and more personal safety equipment,” he will say. Mr Harris will acknowledge the critical commentary around Garda approaches to the far-right, saying he has been involved in “extremely volatile situations”.

“I know that at times the use of the full extent of our powers is required when all other options have been exhausted”, defending the “graduated response” with the use of force as a last resource.

Mr Harris will confirm that the Garda investigation into the stabbing of the children and their carer is progressing and the force is not looking for anyone else in relation to the crime.

“It is terrible that a minority then corrupted the suffering of others in an attempt to further their narrow-minded and vicious agenda. They should be truly ashamed for this and the destruction they caused,” he will tell the committee.

Dublin Riot aftermath: the victims, the investigation and the political fallout

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The Garda’s National Bureau of Criminal Investigation is examining social media and other serious public order incidents, he will tell the committee. Amid criticism of the speed of the Garda response, Mr Harris will outline a detailed sequence of events last Thursday, starting with the stabbing attack which occurred around 1.30pm.

He will say gardaí were immediately deployed, followed by a 25-strong public order unit at 2pm. A small, spontaneous anti-immigration protest took place peacefully at the Garden of Rememberence at 3.35pm but at 4.30pm, a group blocked the Luas. At 5.40pm he will tell the committee a “large number of people” - around 200 - charged towards gardaí and attacked them physically and verbally, damaging Garda vehicles.

Some of the group then sought to “break through” the crime scene cordon, Mr Harris will say, but they were repelled by gardaí. This was followed by “fire attacks” at around 6.30pm, then criminal damage and looting began, as fireworks were thrown at gardaí.

By this time, Mr Harris will say there was “already a significant Garda presence” in the city and by 7pm further gardaí arrived but the numbers involved in rioting “had grown considerably in this short time”. By 8pm, there were 250 gardaí in the “largest ever public order deployment”, with a total of 400 in the city centre. He will say that calm was largely restored to the city centre by 10pm and full order was restored by 11.30pm.

[ Dublin riots: ‘It’s just a mess. The whole front of the shop was destroyed’ ]

He will tell the committee that following the largest ever deployment of public order gardaí, order was restored within hours and argue that in similar situations in other capital cities “normal society [has been] shut down for days”.

However, he will concede that there is now a “different form of disorder”, telling the committee that “we must evolve our tactics to address this”.

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