Garda association issue serious warning in the event of another Dublin riots
'We actually have fewer Gardaí trained now than we had on the day of the Dublin riots'
Workers clean up after the Dublin riots in 2023
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has issued a stark warning over the force's preparedness in the event of a repeat of the 'Dublin riots'.
At the annual conference in Killarney last week, delegates revealed there are fewer officers trained in 'public order' tactics in the Dublin Metropolitan Region today than on the night hundreds of thugs caused mayhem in the capital city in 2023.
In an interview with the Sunday World, Public Order Instructor and delegate for the DMR East, Dave Lestrange revealed how there were 534 gardai trained and certified in public order in the Dublin Metropolitan Region on November 23, 2023 as opposed to just 513 today.
And he warned that cutbacks in the number of public order training days, as well as a lack of a purpose-built public order training facility, will impact the effectiveness of the response of gardai to such an event in the future.
'The Minister [of Justice] came out recently and said from the information that he had received that we have 700 members trained in the DMR,' he said.
'That's not correct.
'We actually have fewer members trained now than we had on the day of the Dublin riots in public order policing.
Workers clean up after the Dublin riots in 2023
'In the DMR at the time of the riots, there were 534 officers training and certified in public order.
'In 2024, we trained an additional 160 officers.
'But after losing people in the re-certs, we are down to 513 members.'
On a day of infamy in Dublin on November 23, 2023, multiple incidents of vandalism, arson and looting took place in the city centre involving at its height as many as 500 people.
The riot was triggered by the stabbing of a young child and a care assistant outside a primary school in Parnell Square East, Dublin.
Asked this week whether gardai are better trained and equipped to respond to such rioting today, Garda Lestrange responded: 'Well, we have less members [trained in public order techniques] than we did back then.
Gardai face rioters on Parnell Street in 2023
News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, May 6th
Mr Lestrange also criticised a new policy in place concerning the number of training days that are now being provided to officers.
'Every member that is trained in public order completed a six day course and if they are successful they are a member of the public order unit.
'They were to recertify annually and this consisted of a fitness test followed by a three day re-cert, which would include a scenario.
'A new policy has just come in, and it's currently being introduced, where it's cutting the training.
'We've done research on other police forces and they have to do five and sometimes more days of training a year.
'It's due to the tactics involved and these are perishable skills, so it needs to be consistent every year.
'The new policy here will cut the number of days our officers receive.
Public Order instructor Dave Lestrange talks to our reporter
'There will be a three-day re-cert but this will include the fitness test on the morning of the first day which cuts the three-day course because the fitness course takes half a day – so our officers will only get two-and-a-half-days.
'And then every alternative year it will be one day of scenario-based training.
'We don't believe that's sufficient,' he added.
'We believe it should be a minimum two-day scenario-based training course.
'This is because if members are taking part in a scenario, we have to be able to identify the mistakes and correct these mistakes.
'The one-day scenario that is being introduced does not give us the opportunity to do this.
'You will have members that management will say have been re-certed but they have not been properly trained.
'The scenario-based training is good because it's practical and based on real life scenarios but to do one day of scenario-based training every second year is not acceptable. It's for the members as well. They are going out in the streets.
'And you see more and more of these things happening.'
Garda Lestrange also called for the construction of a new purpose-built training facility for the public order unit.
'We need a full-time tactical area that not only the public order unit can use for training but also the armed support unit (ASU) can use.
'And at the moment we don't have that.
'We train in Gormanstown army barracks and that's an active training barracks for the army so the facilities available to us aren't great.
'There's very little facilities available to us there.
'What we need is a purpose built training facility for all public order and tactical training.'
In a response, Garda HQ said: 'In relation to Public Order policing in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), preparations are currently under way to identify, train and equip additional personnel to augment the Garda National Public Order Unit (GNPOU) operating within the DMR.'
The statement said there are 1,500 trained public order gardaí nationally while spending on public order equipment increased by 152 per cent since 2023:
It said this money was spent on general frontline equipment including safety helmets, higher-strength incapacitant spray, shields and new body armour.
It said nine bespoke Public Order vans have been purchased, bringing to a total 35 public order vans in the Garda fleet, in addition to two water cannons.
The statement added that public order tactics have been enhanced to allow for use of these additional resources.
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