Gardaí have asked owners of derelict or vacant buildings in Dublin to check their properties for squatters in the run-up to this weekend's May Day festivities.
Yesterday three people were arrested and charged after gardaí raided a derelict building on Leeson Place, Dublin 2. A number of items, including stencils and spray paint, were seized.
A Garda statement said today: "In conjunction with the major policing operation taking place in Dublin this weekend, gardaí are asking landlords and owners of property that is currently vacant (or derelict) in the Greater Dublin area to check out these premises for signs of unauthorised access or squatting.
"Any activity surrounding such property that is considered suspicious or unusual should be reported to the gardaí," the statement added.
A massive security operation in Dublin this weekend will involve more than 5,000 gardaí and more than 2,500 soldiers. Gardaí are this morning putting on display two water cannons borrowed from the Police Service of Northern Ireland for use if necessary.
Most of a prison wing that accommodates nearly 100 prisoners in Cloverhill Prison, Dublin, has been cleared to free up cells in case large numbers of protesters are detained. Special sittings at the prison's courthouse have also been planned - the court does not normally sit at weekends.
Protester groups have vowed that their activities will be peaceful. However, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, said yesterday that intelligence suggests between 250 and 300 international protesters visiting Dublin will try to cause a disturbance at, or near, celebrations to mark the entry into the EU of 10 new member-states.
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