LAST UPDATE | 16 Jul
THE GARDA REPRESENTATIVE Association (GRA) has raised concerns about a delay in the deployment of the Public Order unit during violent scenes in Coolock yesterday.
The GRA has requested an urgent meeting with senior garda management to discuss the safety of members.
Fifteen people appeared before the courts last night after Gardaí came under sustained attack at a disused factory designated as accommodation for asylum seekers in the north Dublin suburb.
A number of Garda cars were damaged during the disturbances and garda public order officers used incapacitant spray on anti-immigration protesters who threw missiles at them.
At one point on Monday the protesters tried to move away from the factory towards Coolock Garda station before they were dispersed.
Earlier, a large number of protesters gathered at the site and attacked gardai on several occasions with missiles.
Thirteen men and two women appeared before a late-night sitting at the Criminal Courts of Justice on Monday, charged with a range of public order offences.
Four people were arrested and are due to appear in court this afternoon.
In a statement today, the GRA commended its members who policed the violence yesterday but criticised the length of time it took for the public order unit to be rolled out. They have called for an urgent meeting with senior officers.
“There was a clear delay in the deployment of the Public Order Unit which potentially exposed our members at the scene to extremely volatile and dangerous conditions for a number of hours.
“This was an organised operation, however, as a result of the delayed deployment of the Public Order Unit it was extremely fortunate that our members did not suffer more serious injuries than those that were sustained.
“We will now be raising this matter with the Commissioner and senior garda management and we will express serious concerns on whether lessons were learned from the incidents of last November and demand that we are better prepared for any possible future attacks. The safety of our members is paramount,” the GRA statement read.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee later told RTÉ’s News at One programme that the unrest was an “extremely difficult” situation for gardaí and that they were responding to a “challenging” set of events.
“You had different groups emerging at different times, you had different incidents, not just at the site of Crown Paints, but at other parts across the community,” she said.
“And Gardaí responded effectively, but they also brought this under control very quickly.”
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris earlier condemned “unacceptable” scenes and said it had been a “difficult policing day”, while Taoiseach Simon Harris described the scenes at the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock as “reprehensible”.
People threw projectiles at gardaíSource: Alamy Stock Photo
Speaking in Dublin, Garda Commissioner Harris said: “This has been a difficult policing day for us in terms of dealing with serious public disorder centred on the Crown Paints factory.”
He added that almost 200 gardai were involved in dealing with the disorder.
“The public order unit responded. It was operational decisions in terms of deployment, assessing the situation and then making sure that our deployment was proportionate," he said.
“We did call upon additional public order units to support the additional unit.
“We had almost 200 gardaí deployed, both public order and normal uniform personnel, and that was sufficient with the disorder that we faced.”
Sources have said that no serious injuries were suffered by gardaí during the incident - with minor cuts and grazes sustained while wrestling with resistant prisoners.
The Garda Press Office said this morning that the Dublin Metropolitan Region was carrying out an assessment of the injuries sustained by gardaí during the incident.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said last night that the scene witnessed in Coolock were "reprehensible".
“No person has a right to burn cars, damage property or attack members of An Garda Siochana and emergency services.
“These actions are criminal and are designed to sow fear and division.”
Incapacitant spray was used by the garda public order unit in an attempt to disperse a crowd which had gathered close to a makeshift anti-immigration camp.
The violence flared in the morning after preparations were made to start work at a disused building which is to be redeveloped to house asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, SIPTU has said Dublin Fire Brigade resources were operating with "one hand tied behind its back" last night due to staff shortages.
SIPTU Organiser Geoff McEvoy said this has been an "ongoing problem for years in Dublin Fire Brigade".
While he noted that recent recruitment has "eased the problem somewhat", he added that it is still resulting in fire trucks and special appliances being unavailable for service.
McEvoy said seven resources were "off the run" yesterday - four fire trucks, two special appliances and one District Officer.
McEvoy also said that the "Public Appointment Service has apparently told Dublin City Council that they are not in a position to run a recruitment campaign for the Fire Brigade".
"This is a shocking and baffling admission and one we believe the Government should address as a matter of urgency," said McEvoy.
SIPTU Dublin Fire Brigade Convenor Luke McCann added that "when you have trucks ‘off the run’, other trucks have to respond from further afield".
McCann said this "leaves a large part of the city dangerously exposed should there be another incident".
With reporting from Press Association and Niall O'Connor.
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