A REPORT EXAMINING Public Order policing has said that garda use of force in violent incidents is influenced by concerns around edited video appearing on social media.

It has also been determined in the report that their ability to respond robustly to incidents like the Dublin Riots is dependent on whether they have enough numbers to do so safely.

The findings are in a review carried out by the Policing Authority in the wake of the Dublin Riots in November 2023, which was published yesterday.

Former minister for justice Helen McEntee called for a review of the public order policing capabilities following the riots.

Chairperson of the Policing Authority, Dr Elaine Byrne BL, spoke about the challenges faced by gardaí on the ground. 

“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 coordination, governance and clarity around decision making.

“This area of policing is one which will continue to require keen and ongoing oversight in 2025 and beyond,” she said.

The review sets out eleven themes, many of which link back to the recommendations of the 2019 Garda Síochána Inspectorate review.

While the review praised individual gardaí for their work in the area it found that many of the recommendations arising from the Garda Inspectorate Report into policing had not been implemented.

The Policing Authority said that there were a number of significant issues that needed to be addressed “quickly”.

These were centred around governance and coordination of public order policing and a lack of up-to-date policy and consensus on the purpose and use of police order policing.

A lack of consistency in the use of the Public Order Command Model and a problem with central coordination of training and resourcing to ensure consistency in training standards was an other problem for the force. 

There was also an issue identified around the numbers being training to meet the required levels of resourcing. 

The review said there has been evidence of progress by Garda management to fix issues in the months after the review was announced.