Members of the public order policing unit said the main factors influencing a decision to use force are whether there are adequate numbers of other gardaí present and the use of social media to record members, a report has revealed.
The findings were contained in a review carried out by the Policing Authority in the wake of the Dublin riots in November 2023.
The review found that there is clarity among public order members as to how to use force and the legal and human rights parameters within which it can and should be used.
The Policing Authority Review of Public Order Policing has been published today. The Authority’s review was provided to then Minister Helen McEntee in August 2024. It was conducted following a Ministerial request in November 2023. It is not a review of the policing of events on…
— Policing Authority (@PolicingAuthIRL) March 19, 2025
However, the primary factor influencing an officer’s decision to use force is whether members can do so safely if there are inadequate numbers of gardaí present to deal with any resulting escalation of violence.
The decision to use force within a public order context is primarily influenced by the availability of garda numbers, both in terms of public order gardaí and regular gardaí.
A critical number of gardaí are required in such situations, they believe, to allow for the safe use of force.
The use of social media to record garda members and the potential dissemination of edited material also influences the use of force, the report found.
A fear of the use of force resulting in a complaint to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) was a much lesser factor for public order members, according to the review.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan presented the findings to the Cabinet on Wednesday.
Former minister for justice Helen McEntee called for a review of the public order policing capabilities following the Dublin riots.
The review has found that while progress has been made since the publication of the Garda Siochana Inspectorate (GSI) report on public order policing in 2019, some of the key recommendations remain incomplete.
It found that it relates to improvements in the central co-ordination, management and governance of public order policing.
The review found that while there is current public order policy in place, the policy dates from 2017, which pre-dates the GSI recommendations of 2019.
It also dates from a period before the Covid-19 pandemic and before what is an increased use of social media for the mobilisation of protest and before current issues such as migration policy.
The review found that while there is evidence of progress made during the months of the review, it said there is an urgent need for the organisation to finalise the policies and communicate them to support garda members and staff.
The Policing Authority said the revised policies must clarify the purpose and role of public order policing, the decision-making structures, how resourcing and training are to be co-ordinated and clarify where decision-making about each is located.
“It is important to note that a lack of agreement and understanding exists at local and regional leadership levels and this requires attention,” it said in the review.
“There is a need to ensure compliance with and consistency in the use of the Public Order Incident Command Model.
“There is a need to clarify where accountability and governance lie in terms of the use or non-use of the Public Order Incident Command Model.
“The retrospective identification of roles as having been strategic, operational or tactical does not deliver the benefits or reduce the risks that a timely activation of the model at the beginning of a spontaneous event would deliver.
“The organisation needs to be confident that its leadership at local and regional level is engaging the model when appropriate.”
It said that while the adequacy of public order policing numbers is a matter for the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, it has to be considered within the overall reduction in garda numbers and factored into strategic workforce planning.
It said that the adequacy of public order capacity and capability needs to be rigorously assessed on a continuous basis as the environment shifts.
The review found that the capabilities of the public order unit cannot “be divorced” from the consideration of garda resources, particularly in regard to garda availability.
“Consideration as to whether public order policing should be a standing capability or whether it should continue to be serviced from the use of significant overtime has to be based on the capacity of the organisation – given current Garda numbers – to service such a decision,” it added.
“Ultimately it would require drawing more gardai away from other areas of policing, which can negatively impact service.
“Public order capacity can only be considered within a conversation about what potential radical approaches exist to increase garda numbers.”
In its annual advice to the Minister for Justice on garda resources, the Policing Authority said it called for radical action on the issue of garda recruitment and retention in order to more quickly increase garda numbers.
“The use of overtime to substitute for reduced personnel must be overtly called out in the organisation’s strategic workforce planning and the associated risks identified,” it added.
Dr Elaine Byrne BL, chairwoman of the Policing Authority, said: “The policing of protests and public disorder continues to be a live issue and in that, the authority recognises the courage and dedication of the gardaí who undertake public order policing.
“It is noteworthy that areas discussed in this review do not relate to the skills, competence or work ethic of the gardaí undertaking this work.
“Rather, the report focuses on issues of co-ordination, governance and clarity around decision making.
“This area of policing will continue to require keen and ongoing oversight in 2025 and beyond.”
