“It goes as far as to identifying who their children may be”
Gardai at the Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork during recent fuel protests(Image: CorkBeo)
Gardaí do not feel safe in their own homes after being threatened and having their addresses published online amid the fuel protests.
Garda Niall Hodgins, who is the incoming President of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), told the media gathered at the annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo, that members who policed the fuel blockades were targeted by thugs who even threatened their children online.
Describing the issue as a “modern phenomenon,” Detective Garda Hodgins said the issue was having a horrific impact on officers’ security.
“To target any member of An Garda Síochána in this manner undermines the effectiveness of policing in society and how it does that, it is that the policeman or policewoman and their families cannot feel safe in their own homes.
“I would challenge anybody that would suggest that actions like that could be in any way justified to even perhaps exceed whatever point they may be making.
Protestors at Whitegate oil refinery earlier this month(Image: Provision)
“We absolutely condemn that. We would welcome the Commissioner’s commitments to pursue these people and bring a prosecution before courts as soon as possible in relation to that and we strongly support him in that aspect.
“This is a modern phenomenon, I suppose, that people refer to as doxxing.
“This is where the identities of our members are outed online and circulated. They go viral. But it goes further than that. It goes to identify members’ private stuff, with regards to their families, where they may live, and indeed, it goes as far as to identifying who their children may be, so to target any public servant in this manner is completely outrageous, and we need tools to deal with this phenomenon.”
Incoming GRA President Detective Garda Niall Hodgins(Image: GRA/Conor O’ Mearain)
Garda Hodgins added that “media manipulation has gone on for many, many, many, many years”.
“We would feel that our legislators may be behind in this particular area. So we just feel that agitators that may join genuine protests are utilising these tools to attack our members, to advance their own self-indulgent views with regards to their views and how matters should progress,” he said.
GRA General Secretary Ronan Slevin also spoke on the matter, saying: “It’s very hard to have confidence in your policing when you realise any actions you’re taking in line with ensuring the safety of the public and the State, that your family are going to be threatened and your children identified.”
The comments by the senior GRA members come after Gardaí have raised concerns about officers being targeted and threatened during the course of the fuel blockade protests earlier this month.
It comes after the Garda Commissioner also addressed threats made online to Gardaí.
“I am concerned to hear about attempts in person and online to threaten and intimidate Gardaí who are engaged in their lawful work. I have viewed some of this online material myself and have been absolutely appalled by it. This will not be tolerated and will be fully investigated with the aim of bringing those involved to justice,” he said.
Gardaí from all over Ireland were deployed at short notice for the operations in Galway, Dublin and Cork – and some officers drove hundreds of kilometres to get the locations they were ordered to police. The Galway operation, which began at around 8am on a Sunday morning, took some 200 Gardaí, sources said.
And as well as the 500 Gardaí involved in the Sunday morning operation, a further 400 were deployed on Friday and Saturday. There was still a heavy Garda presence in all three locations on the Sunday evening, but the protests in each site had been ended.
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