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Coolock unrest: Why can’t gardaí prevent fires at former Crown Paints factory?

Force cannot provide ‘free security service’ for large former Crown Paints building at centre of protest, sources say

A three-metre high wall of concrete barriers was erected to secure a section of the perimeter at the former Crown Paint factory in Coolock. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins
A three-metre high wall of concrete barriers was erected to secure a section of the perimeter at the former Crown Paint factory in Coolock. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins
Conor Lally's picture
Conor Lally
Sun Jul 21 2024 - 17:59

Garda management has decided against deploying members of the force inside the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock, north Dublin, leaving it more vulnerable to attack. That vulnerability was in evidence last week when three fires at the site on the evenings of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, had to be brought under control by Dublin Fire Brigade.

At one point on Friday evening, several fire tenders were held back by the gardaí 100m from the site, which has been earmarked for accommodation for about 500 international protection applicants (IPAs). The fire tenders were allowed into the site only when it was confirmed order had been restored and the environment was safe.

Major efforts were made to clear a protesters’ camp from the entrance to the site last Monday. A three-metre high wall of concrete barriers to secure that section of the perimeter was also erected overnight into Tuesday. Why, then, has Garda Headquarters not simply gone further and moved teams of gardaí on to the site to guard it from incursion?

Garda sources who spoke to The Irish Times said if gardaí were deployed in that manner a considerable group would be required. This would prove complex and very costly. It may also prove very difficult to unwind that deployment in time, with a risk of “contagion” to many other locations.

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The same sources said if gardaí were moved in to the Coolock factory to maintain a 24-7 process, violence could still flare, even sporadically, on the streets outside for weeks, even months. The sources pointed out such a scenario would necessitate a significant operation on the streets outside, as well as maintaining the presence inside the former factory and its grounds.

“If we do that for one site [earmarked for IPAs] do we come under pressure to do that at other sites when protests whip up?” asked one Garda member. He added while the Garda had a duty to protect private property they were “not a free security guard service” for property owners.

Another agreed: “The Government said last week there was 30 more of these sites earmarked around the country. If you go into Coolock, you’d get contagion to have to go into a lot of these other sites. The Garda numbers just aren’t there anyway. And recruitment is still not what we promised, the numbers coming out of the [Garda] college are below target every quarter.”

Against the backdrop of such serious violence witnessed last week, and the fact that a small number of people remained very highly motivated to stop the site being used for IPAs, Garda sources said any deployment of gardaí inside the site would need to be significant. A large group of gardaí would be required to ensure they had the numbers to defend themselves if attacked.

“You’re talking at least dozens [of gardaí] and you’re looking at having them there and rotating them in and out every time a shift changes,” said one source. “So even if you deployed 20 or 30 at a time, you’d need to do that twice or three times a day for shift changes.”

Other sources agreed the resources required would be very significant to maintain even 20-30 Garda members at the site. They added a mix of uniformed and public order unit personnel would be required, further complicating any such operation.

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In 2003, a debate ensued around the cost of maintaining a static Garda post outside the homes of former taoisigh. Maintaining those static posts – meaning a single Garda member always present – was regarded as very costly. Then minister for justice, Michael McDowell, said five gardaí were required for each post – when shift patterns, rest periods and annual leave were all factored in.

That ratio – five gardaí being required to fill one post 24-7 – would mean if only 20 to 30 gardaí were to be deployed to the Coolock site, that would require Garda management to commit at least 100 to 150 to that operation. And that commitment would be indefinite. Larger numbers than 20-30 may also be needed to ensure safety.

The former Crown Paint factories may be protected by a fence, and the higher concrete structure erected at the main entrance on Tuesday, but it is effectively a campus on a larger industrial estate. And because of that, the perimeter is porous and is impossible to fully secure.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) was due to meet senior Garda management in coming days to discuss what it sees as delays in deploying the public order unit in Coolock last Monday. The GRA said this left uniformed rank-and-file gardaí open to attack.

Furthermore, the association is concerned a lack of public order unit helmets for uniformed gardaí on duty on Friday, when projectiles were thrown, contributed to the risk that resulted in three gardaí being injured.

Those helmets were clearly needed for the uniformed gardaí, whose only protective kit is stab-proof vests and some of whom suffered head injuries on Friday. However, additional riot helmets are only the tip of the iceberg of the Garda resources that will be expended in Coolock before the unrest eventually runs its course.