Garda Commissioner Drew Harris began the year with a call for his resignation, from Sinn Féin, still ringing in his ears in the aftermath of the Dublin riots in late November 2023.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said she had “zero confidence” in Harris and called on him to go. In truth, there was never any risk to his position, thought the riots remain a serious stain on his leadership.
It was the latest chapter in worsening violence connected to a growing anti-immigration fervour and interpreted in some quarters as proof that the far right was gaining the upper hand on policing.
Dispelling that perception was the biggest priority for the Garda Siochána – and specifically Harris – as 2024 began.
In addition, the commissioner has had to endure poor relations with the Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents 11,000 rank-and-file gardaí in a 14,000-strong force.
Another shadow hanging over Harris, the top brass at Garda Headquarters and Fine Gael Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has been the spluttering efforts to bolster the size of the force. Garda recruitment has been back in full flow for the past 12 months but the results have been mixed, to say the least. Further challenges are on the horizon with the upcoming spike in Garda retirements.
In the immediate aftermath of the riots, Harris said there had been “an element of radicalisation” in society.
He insisted there was “no failure” on the part of the Garda during the riots and that nobody could have predicted the extent of the disturbances that had broken out. A week later, at an Oireachtas justice committee hearing, he acknowledged shortcomings: from the availability of Garda personnel to delays in calling up public-order-units and making equipment and training available to them.
In response, the Garda has introduced major changes that leave the Garda force better placed to face down disorder.
The number of dedicated public order, or riot squad, vehicles has increased to 42 from 27 and two water cannon have also been ordered by the Garda.
The number of Garda members trained for public-order unit duties has increased threefold, to more than 1,500 nationally, and public-order officers in vans are on patrol in Dublin from 8am every morning.
New pepper sprays – larger and more toxic than before – have also been purchased as well as new shields, of varying sizes and weights, and more modern body armour and riot helmets. Body-worn cameras have also been rolled out in parts of Dublin, Limerick and Waterford. Just over €3 million has been spent on public-order kit since last year. Total spending of €12 million is planned for vehicles and kit – body armour, pepper sprays, batons, shields – for 1,000 public-order unit members.
[ Garda ‘stretched’ as online fraud reaches ‘industrial’ levels, Drew Harris warnsOpens in new window ]
The enhanced training and better equipment was put to the test in Coolock, north Dublin, in July when violence erupted outside the former Crown Paints factory which was earmarked for accommodation for international protection applicants (IPAs).
Initially, public-order unit gardaí were moved into the area as an effort was made to move in contractors and security personnel – and remove a protesters’ camp – so the work of readying the centre for IPAs could commence. However, when the operation initially appeared to go well, the public-order unit personnel were withdrawn. But, very soon, aggressive protesters gathered outside, with petrol bombs and missiles thrown. It took hours for a new public-order unit to be mustered and deployed.
Through the day there were clashes with protesters, with more than 30 arrests, as gardaí used their new batons and more powerful pepper sprays to restore order.
However, the workers on the site were forced to flee and a new makeshift protest camp has since been established, with no IPAs moved in and no work carried about almost six months later.
Garda sources said that although the pattern of violent protest – targeting IPA accommodation in 2023 – has dissipated over the last year, the success by violent protesters in blocking the Coolock site for use is a major concern for gardaí.
“You’ve seen the Government stalling on opening these places and taking a harder line on immigration and that seems to have taken the sting out of the far right,” said one source.
There has also been a change of strategy under Harris; gardaí have also been much more inclined over the past year to pursue stronger, more proactive interventions at far-right protests and other gatherings. As commissioner, he assured Garda members of their right to use force.
He argued that some protests, including those outside the homes of politicians, may be illegal and should be investigated on the basis they constitute harassment.
That has resulted in six arrests this year – the first of their kind – for gatherings by masked men and women outside the home of Taoiseach Simon Harris in Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Harris called for balaclavas and face coverings, when used in certain circumstances, to be banned by the creation of a new criminal offence, which is being drafted within the Department of Justice.
In another legal first, a suspect was arrested in October on suspicion he had created and circulated a social media post falsely claiming that an international protection applicant had exposed himself to women while travelling on a bus to an accommodation centre in Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow.
On another front, Harris travelled to Dubai this year to meet senior police officers in Dubai, part of a Garda and Government efforts resulting in an extradition treaty between the Republic and United Arab Emirates.
One of the key figures in the Dubai-based Kinahan cartel, Dubliner Sean McGovern (38) was also arrested in Dubai in October. He was the first Irish cartel member to be detained in the emirate. He now faces extradition to the Republic for the Kinahan-Hutch feud murder of Noel Kirwan in Dublin in December 2016. If that extradition goes ahead it would be a significant victory for the Irish criminal justice system.
The leadership of the cartel, including Christy Kinahan and his two sons Daniel and Christopher jnr, have lived openly in Dubai, out of reach of the Garda, for the best part of a decade. McGovern’s arrest, if it results in his extradition, would be a hammer blow to the Kinahans’ comfortable lifestyle and safe haven in Dubai.
Closer to home, road deaths looked like they were significantly worsening in the first months of 2024; reaching 56 fatalities by the end of March, compared with 42 in the same period in 2023. Harris intervened and directed all Garda members must conduct 30 minutes of roads policing during their shifts.
While the effectiveness of the policy is hard to capture precisely, road deaths soon fell and began tracking lower than in 2023. By mid-December they had reached 167, some 11 fewer than last year.
One key pressure point for the Garda under Harris over the last year has been the size of Garda force; it fell from 14,700 to just under 14,000 after recruitment was suspended during the pandemic. While recruitment has long recommenced, it has proven sluggish.
Lower Garda numbers have put pressure on serving members, affecting response times and the types of incidents that gardaí can respond to. Frontline policing – uniformed patrols on the streets – has often had to be bolstered by bringing in gardaí from the regions because resources are so depleted.
In mid-December, after the final Garda graduation of the year, there were 14,220 members in the force, up from 13,882 at the end of November 2023, but growing the organisation back to pre-pandemic levels will take several years more. That is a concern considering the population growth in the Republic in recent years.
The sluggish growth comes against a backdrop of big promises on Garda numbers. Both McEntee and Garda Headquarters have spoken of a long-term commitment to grow the organisation to 15,000 and continue with that growth towards the 18,000 Garda members Harris has said are required.
The pace of Garda resignations appears to be slowing, though Harris himself retires as commissioner around May.
Those enduring recruitment problems will likely damage his legacy, at least in the short term after his departure.
The departure of others will soon create another challenge as the generation of Garda members who joined the force under an accelerated recruitment programme between 30 and 40 years ago reach retirement age over the next decade.
The beginning of that decade-long spike in retirements was delayed when the Government agreed to a proposal by Harris to increase the Garda retirement age from 60 to 62 years in 2024.
That measure, however, merely postponed the inevitable and further underlined the need to increase significantly the number of Garda recruits joining the force each year.
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