THE GARDA REPRESENTATIVE Association (GRA) is due to meet with Garda management tomorrow over concerns around deployment and accommodation while staffing Joe Biden’s visit next week.
US President Joe Biden is travelling to Ireland early next week and is due to visit Belfast, Dublin, Louth and Mayo.
Some Gardaí have expressed concern that they have yet to receive full rosters for the Biden visit, with sources indicating that these may be provided tomorrow.
Typically, Gardaí receive information on changes to their rosters two weeks in advance.
However, there are exceptional circumstances where Gardaí can be informed of their updated roster up to 48 hours in advance.
Some members have also expressed concerns about the standard of accommodation being provided to them during the visit.
For Gardaí staffing the Dublin portion of the visit overnight, sources have said that hotels and apartments have been secured.
“The GRA have been liaising with Garda management at a national level and locally in the centres that President Biden will visit, and we are assured that all members will be provided with accommodation that is suitable and to a sufficient standard,” said Brendan O’Connor, the President of the GRA.
“In the absence of confirmed information we are aware of inaccurate information circulating suggesting temporary structures or military facilities being utilised, but this is not the case.”
It is also understood that Gardaí who are forced to change shifts to accommodate Biden’s visit will be compensated with overtime.
When asked for comment ahead of the meeting between Garda management and the GRA, a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said:
“We won’t be commenting on operational matters.”
Biden is due to arrive first in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, heading to Belfast at the same time as UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
He’s due to make a keynote address at Queen’s University on Wednesday, before heading down to Louth to visit both Dundalk and Carlingford.
It is then expected that the US President will travel on to Dublin, where he is due to meet with President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Farmleigh.
Biden will also address TDs and Senators on Thursday during a joint sitting of the Dáil and Seanad, the fourth US President to do so and the first since 1995.
He will then travel to Mayo and will address the public outside St St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina.
The event is open to the public and anyone wishing to attend the event can register here.
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