Concern over Southern security forces

Gardai & Army may not stand behind government in 'Doomsday' scenario

THE PHOENIX

www.thephoenix.ie

FEBRUARY 27, 2009
TOP BRASS PREPARE FOR THE BARRICADES!

WHILE THE media watches the apparently unending financial scandals unfolding, up in the Garda HQ they are watching things with a different eye. The traditional monthly liaison meetings between Permanent Defence Forces senior officers and their Garda counterparts in the Phoenix Park Depot have been supplemented by a series of ad hoc discussions about contingency plans – and what to do if things turn nasty. Those involved are Commissioner Fachtna Murphy, Deputy Commissioner Martin Callinan (Garda Operations Chief), and Mick McCarthy, the recently appointed assistant commissioner in charge of State Security and Intelligence.

Army officers involved include Chief of Staff Dermot Earley and the OC of Eastern Command, Brigadier General Denis Murphy. They are aware that unrest in Latvia, Bulgaria and Iceland, where professional persons took to the streets and overthrew the government in January, resulted in predictions by European economists of possible civil unrest in Ireland in the March-May period.

The fears in the Phoenix Park are that not all Garda members will be enthusiastic about halting demonstrations, which might get out of hand. The sight of many Garda middle management figures protesting on the streets, with the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (ASGI) prominent in the 120,000 Dublin ICTU-organised march on the Dáil, is merely one indication of the rumblings within the force. The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has said in response to reports from within about “withdrawal of labour” that there will be no mass sickness absence, as in the 1998 Blue Flu protest. But GRA chief Michael O’Boyce has spoken of “other forms of agitation” – taken by many members to refer to a work-to-rule move similar to that which has caused long delays at Dublin airport passport inspections.

Ostensibly rank-and-file gardaí are concerned about pension levies, but many are angered at swinging overtime cuts which have seen court witness attendances reduced, resulting in significant take home pay reductions, especially for younger members. In the Detective Branch, more senior members are seething at what they see as interference from on high with their duties to investigate white collar crime. None of those involved in the financial-related scandals so far have been questioned by gardaí, while only one raid has been carried
out. This was done by civilians attached to the Financial Regulator’s Office. None of the wide statutory powers or technical expertise available to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) or their powers to recover email archives from Internet service providers, which could prove vital in discovering if multi-million euro crimes have been committed, have been used.

And while the forces in charge of State security consider the possibility that gardaí may not be as reliable in this situationas in others, the Permanent Defence Forces may be less than solid as well. Aid to the Civil Power training is going on apace for many ranks – including
technical grades in the Air Corps, who have taken their place with batons and shields while comrades hurl stones and bottles at them in mock street fights. They are being prepared for a
Doomsday situation where they will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Garda Public Order Units – provided members are not working to rule.

In response to PDFORRA (the soldiers’ union) saying that they were angered at what is going on, General Dermot Earley growled that the Army “would do its duty” in coming to the aid of the civil power. It’s hard to predict what might happen if a demonstration like the ICTU Dáil march got out of hand. The 120,000 on Dublin’s streets were well behaved, but the Dublin Brigade of Gougers, who brought havoc to O’Connell Street when Willie Frazer last came to town, were conspicuous by their absence, something those State security honchos up in the Park are not certain will continue. It’s worth remembering that a small group of Icelandic protestors overthrew the Reykjavik government using tubs of yoghurt, eggs and paint bombs
against the Althing building. If the traditional Dublin Brigade of the Combined Corps of Gougers and Anti-Establishment Street Fighters turns out at some of the future protests, it may be that they will throw more than yoghurt and eggs.