Commissioner praises work of gardaí involved in policing Corrib gas project

THE GARDA Commissioner has praised the work of gardaí involved in policing the Corrib gas project.

In a comment on the controversy over remarks allegedly made by gardaí in relation to raping a female protester, Mr Callinan said the force had been doing a satisfactory and professional job over a number of years.

Mr Callinan said that it was “important to put things in perspective”.

The Garda had been policing the protest over a number of years, “working away on a daily basis very, very competently, very, very efficiently, and occasionally matters come to national attention”.

“When people who are hell bent on arriving in the west of Ireland with a propensity or an intention towards violence or violent behaviour, matters of public disorder occur.”

He added that the Garda function was clear. It was to ensure “the community can go about its business in a peaceful manner”.

He said the force was also “obliged to ensure that people who work in the Shell project can go about their business” .

Another obligation was to marshal peaceful protests.

“I am very, very satisfied that members of my police force are doing their jobs professionally down there, and dealing with very, very complex policing issues and very, very confrontational situations.”

He said his senior management team would ensure that “the standards that are supposed to be in place are in place”, and that serving officers would know that.

However, the commissioner said he fully supported the Garda Ombudsman’s commission into the incident, and would await the outcome of the investigation before commenting further.

The controversy was sparked by the publication of transcripts of a tape in which gardaí were heard speaking about raping a female protester who had been arrested.

The Garda Commissioner has apologised for the incident.