Major security operation starts today

A 36-hour shutdown of Phoenix Park begins this evening as the Garda and Defence Forces prepare for the arrival of EU dignitaries in Dublin for the European Day of Welcomes tomorrow.

In one the largest security operations ever seen in the State, more than 5,000 gardaí and 2,500 troops will be deployed to protect the enlarged union's 25 heads of state and government who will be in Dublin for tomorrow's enlargement ceremonies.

The Garda yesterday intensified its campaign against possible troublemakers travelling from overseas when it issued a warning to landlords and property-owners to be on the lookout for illegal squatters.

Its appeal followed the arrest on Tuesday night of three UK nationals on charges of trespass at a private residence in Lower Leeson Street.

The Garda also yesterday displayed two water cannon which it has borrowed from the Police Service of Northern Ireland to counter possible crowd-control problems during planned protests by anti-capitalists.

Supt John Farrelly said the cannon would only be used in the event of normal policing breaking down.

Defending the scale of the security operation, he added: "You have to plan for the worst-case scenario.

"Because you do that, and because there are so many things happening, like the Phoenix Park closing, people presume or anticipate that we are expecting trouble. The reality is we are not."

However, he said, "we do know there are a number of people, maybe up to about 300, coming in from overseas who, we now know through intelligence, may try to disrupt the proceedings, and we are watching them."

The Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, met officials from the Garda Representative Association yesterday to clarify policing arrangements.

This followed criticism from rank-and-file gardaí about the level of information given to them about the operation.

Speaking after the meeting, the GRA president, Mr Dermot O'Donnell, said its members had received "significant guarantees" on certain health and safety issues, including the manner in which helmets should be available to public order units.

Garda management confirmed that helmets should not be worn in the first instance by gardaí but should be carried on belt-clips.

Mr O'Donnell added: "GRA members recognise that this is an important and critical event in the development of the EU and hope that the people who come to celebrate or make a genuine protest do so peacefully."

One of the organisers of tomorrow's protests, Another Europe Is Possible, said it planned to have 50-60 stewards at the event who would deal with any troublemakers.

Mr Rory Hearne, the group's co-ordinator, described the Garda security arrangements as a "disgraceful" attempt to intimidate protesters, claiming the number of potential trouble-makers would be in their tens and not hundreds.

Mr Brendan Archbold, a senior official with the Mandate trade union and chairman of ICTU's solidarity committee, said it would be supporting the May Day demonstrations in defence of workers who were threatened by privatisation and exploitation globally.

Dublin Grassroots Network, which is holding a series of separate protests, said it would not be stewarding the events, but anyone causing trouble or carrying weapons would be asked to leave. "It is everyone's responsibility to ensure the march is a safe and successful event," the group told supporters.

A number of Dublin traders have also complained about the scale of the Garda security operation.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, has urged people to take part in the official celebrations in Dublin and 10 other towns and cities in the Republic.

In attending the events, he said, "the citizens of Ireland have a unique opportunity to welcome our new European neighbours."