Army and hospitals on full alert for May Day

The Army and Dublin's hospitals have been told to be on full alert during the first weekend in May, when Ireland hosts a ceremony to welcome the accession states into the European Union.

Naval vessels will patrol Dublin Bay on May Day while Army bomb disposal experts and members of the Defence Forces' chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear unit will form part of a massive Army deployment in the city on the day.

Soldiers will also support teams of gardaí charged with the protection of key installations around the capital, including the airport.

Senior staff at Dublin's main hospitals met yesterday and were told by the Eastern Regional Health Authority to have their emergency contingency plans at the ready on May 1st, in the event of serious civil unrest. The meeting was addressed by a senior garda, who outlined the risk of international protesters arriving in Dublin to cause trouble.

The Department of Defence last night revealed details of its preparations for May 1st.

More than 2,500 troops will back-up around 4,000 gardaí, who may have to deal with rioting that gardaí believe could take place during a ceremony in the city marking the entry into the EU of 10 accession states.

It will be one of the biggest security operations ever undertaken in the State.

The 2,500 troops will provide support to gardaí at Farmleigh and Áras an Uachtaráin, both in the Phoenix Park, where the accession ceremony, attended by EU heads of state, will take place. An unspecified number of soldiers will be armed on the day.

Unarmed gardaí will form the front line of defence should rioting break out. These will be backed by gardaí in special riot gear, who will use water cannon to disperse crowds if necessary.

Armed gardaí are expected to assume a much more covert role and would only be called on in very limited circumstances.

The plan also reveals that the Garda air support unit will patrol the skies above Dublin. It is expected the Garda helicopter will patrol Dublin city centre.

Defence forces personnel will provide back-up air traffic control services, while Baldonnel will be used to accommodate government jets from all over the EU.

The Army will supply an auxiliary fire-fighting capability within the Phoenix Park, which will be closed to the public.