Members of the Policing Authority were tasked by Justice Minister Helen McEntee with looking at how frontline gardaí dealing with serious public order events could be further supported.
The report, which has yet to be published, was written in reaction to the Dublin riots in November 2023 and submitted to her in August.
The Policing Authority raised concerns with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris as to how public order units might defend civilians and themselves when protests escalate.
On Thursday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he had signed off on the procurement of “two anti-riot vehicles”, each with the capacity to carry 5,200 litres of water.
Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman said that €3.7m had been spent on public-order equipment over the last two-and-a-half years.
She said the public order unit was expanding its fleet of 27 vehicles, adding: “We’ve just spent 1.4 million euro and are at the minute delivering another 15 vehicles across the country.”
“We’re not starting from point zero – we already have people who are well trained and we’re just adding to their skills. It’s an ongoing continuous improvement”, said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
He added that pepper spray and lighter and smaller shields have been delivered to ensure that gardaí can be more mobile were they to be caught up in public order situations.
Asked about the tensions at the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock last July, he said that he was “anxious” to obtain body camera footage of offences and threats being carried out.
The footage was handed over by RTÉ under court order and was previously used for a segment in RTÉinvestigates.
Gardai are examining the footage to see if charges can be brought against further individuals involved in the unrest.
He said that An Garda Siochana received “extensive footage of threats being made and allegations of assault” today.
“We did not know the extent of the damage until we saw the footage captured by body cameras. There have been 34 arrests and 26 individuals charged before the courts. That includes footage of offenses being committed including serious criminal damage and very serious assault”.
He added that previously recalling the public order units on July 15 at 7am from Coolock was “not the correct decision”.
Soon thereafter, tensions escalated at the site and a digger and mattresses were burned.
The public order unit was later redeployed to the site but security staff at the building had been injured during the intervening period.
“Response colleagues were put in a very difficult position between 10am to 1pm. It was a difficult three hours to contain what was happening”, the Garda Commissioner said.
“We decided to let them finish at 7am which is when their usual shift ends but it was not the correct decision given how the situation then developed. The situation rapidly deteriorated from about 8am and especially from 10am on”.
Asst Commissioner Hilman said there had been a 56 pc increase in protest activity this year. There have been 862 protests in the first eight months of the year, up from 553 in the same period last year and 285 in 2022.
She said the vast majority conclude peacefully.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris also commented on the revelations of sexual abuse in church-led schools across Ireland appealing for more people to come forward.
“You are dealing with people who are specifically trained and are very professional in their approach to this”, he said.
“Your complaint to us is dealt with properly, thoroughly and with great confidentiality as well.
He added: “People will be listened to.”
Almost 2,400 allegations of historical sexual abuse were recorded by 308 schools run by religious orders across Ireland, a Government-ordered scoping inquiry revealed.
Gardai launched an appeal asking anyone wishing to report such allegations to contact them.
Since then, more than 522 contacts had been made to the Sexual Crime Management Unit at Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) by email and telephone, the Child Sexual Abuse Reporting phone line and in person at individual Garda Stations.
Commissioner Harris said the vast majority of these are from men and relate to alleged sexual abuse.
Other complaints relate to physical abuse of a non-sexual nature.
Policing Authority chairwoman Dr Elaine Byrne asked the Commissioner to respond to allegations of institutional cover-up in relation to the allegations.
“The scoping inquiry has laid bare the extent of the abuse, the numbers involved and it makes clear where our provision of information was deficient and we need to rectify that between now and the new commission commencing its work.”
Asked if individual gardai are found to have participated in a cover up, Mr Harris said they would be reported to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Garda Ombudsman.
