A growth in the number of protests, more gardaí being deployed in response, and more street closures have contributed to policing costs at demonstrations outside Leinster House already topping €1 million in 2024. An increase in violence at some immigration-related protests has also been noted by An Garda Síochána.
It comes against a backdrop of an increase in protests in Dublin more widely.
According to the Garda, the “vast majority” of these protests are peaceful but there has “also been an increase in violent public disorder at some protests, particularly related to the issue of immigration”.
The sum spent on policing protests outside the Houses of the Oireachtas during the first seven months of the year is more than four times the €224,150 incurred for all of 2023.
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It is considerably larger than the just over €23,730 spent in 2022.
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It is almost a year since the unrest that occurred outside Leinster House on the first day after the Dáil summer recess in 2023. That demonstration saw about 200 people protesting about issues ranging from immigration to Covid-19 vaccines.
There was a mock gallows present, and some politicians required Garda assistance to enter the Leinster House complex. There were 13 arrests.
Of the 22 protests at Leinster House that saw expenditure by the Garda in 2023, 20 occurred on or after that day.
By the start of August 2024, the Garda had incurred costs for policing 18 protests outside the parliament buildings in this calendar year.
On the question of dealing with possible protests when the Dáil resumes next week, a Garda statement said: “As per standard, a policing plan will be in place for the opening of the Dáil.”
The policing costs related to protests at Leinster House in 2024 include €798,084 on overtime payments; €156,196 on travel and subsistence; and other expenditure including hiring barriers, traffic management and catering of €50,038.
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The Garda statement said: “In line with this growth and the nature of the protests, which often involves protest and counter-protest activity, An Garda Síochána has increased the number of gardaí policing protests at Leinster House, increased the security infrastructure, and more frequently closed surrounding streets. This has resulted in increased costs.”
The statement also said “the operational objective of gardaí in the DMR [Dublin Metropolitan Region] in providing a policing response concerning any protest, is to ensure that the rights of all concerned are upheld and that the safety of the public is maintained at all times”.
“It is necessary to tailor each policing operation and response to facilitate peaceful protests, ensure that they can take place, effectively manage traffic and minimise disruption to road users, prevent injury and protect life.”
The statement highlighted a wider increase in the number of protests in the Dublin area with gardaí responding to 307 protests there in 2022, 617 protests in 2023 and already more than 400 up to July 2024.
An Garda Síochána also said: “The nature of some of these protests has also changed over that time. In 2023 and 2024, we have seen an increase in protest activity related to the issues of immigration and the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
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