What are the Gardaí spending the money on?

by Ciaron - Catholic Worker/Ploughshares Thu Aug 07, 2008 20:10

Well they have also spent 7 million euro on a movement that doesn't really exist "securing incursions into Shannon over the past two years". All good for the overtime, the second car and extension to the house. But it was it money well spent?

The only group that (there were solo efforts by Eoin Dubsky 02, Mary Kelly 03 and the fence pulling crew 02) with a pattern of incursions into Shannon was th feldging Catholic Worker movement in Ireland, bless 'em

-Pit Stop Ploughshares Feb 03 www.peaceontrial.com
-Good Frday Potato Planting next to runway Easter 03
-Shannon Banshees Halloween 05 (ya'd think hey woulda saw that one coming!)

These actions seemed to have dried up with the closure of the Catholic Worker house in Rialto/ Dublin Christmas 05.

There was a promise (garda called in a threat!) of 100 folks over the fence by Christmas 05 army and garda redeployed to Shannon.......didn't happen!

No more attempted incursions into Shannon in the last 2 1/2 years iwhich the 7 million is spent (some may put that down to effective policing others to the Catholic Workers pulling up stumps, closing house and pretty much leaving Ireland!)

The last major demonstration (300 and 3 U.S. Iraq War vets) was Haoloween 06.
No demonstration bigger than 50 in 07.
None planned for 08.

Garda have spent 7 million policing a movement thatdoesn't exist.

Meanwhile the catholic Worker faithful remnant can be found outside the GPO every Monday 4pm-6pm maintainig vigil against the war!

by Kildare Man Fri Aug 08, 2008 00:26

According to the headline in this weeks Leinster Leader the Kildare/Carlow division is the most undermanned in the state. About time the garda mangement and the government got their priorities right!!

by Edward Horgan Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:53

There are monthly peace vigils taking place at Shannon on the second Sunday of each month between 5 and 6 pm, organised by Amnesty. Next one in on Sunday next 10 August, followed by one on Sunday 14 September.
We are also planning a larger national Peace Protest at Shannon on Saturday 13 September, if we can get enough support from within the Pale around Dublin.
The weekend of 13/14 September should therefore be used as a weekend of events at Shannon airport to continue to highlight the ongoing abuse of Irish territory for the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and by CIA rendition flights.
Reports in this weeks Limerick Leader indicate that some locals are getting increasingly concerned in case the Iraq war ends, and workers at Shannon will loose the benefits they are getting for US military warplanes and CIA torture flights.
Please walk the walk at Shannon airport on 13/14 September, and if possible, stay overnight at a Shannon peacecamp on Saturday 13 September.

by Tara Tara Tara Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:04

Would love to know how much has been spent on policing Tara. They must have saved a fortune chaperoning private security to do their work for them.

by Ciaron - Catholic Worker/Ploughshares Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:12

Ed,

I'd welcome you taking this issue up on another thread - where the anti-war remnant should go at Shannon.

I have a few ideas.
The first is to recognise that there is no movement only the IAWM shell that exists for the occasional mainstream media comment.
It no longer even serves as a recrutiment for the SWP.

An anti-war movement has to be built from the bottom.
Forget about the Pale.
Focus on Shannon/Limerick, Cork, Galway for your organising base.

Make the monthy vigils to Shannon worth travelling to from Cork, Galway and maybe the Pale.
Find a space eg. a church hall.
Each month
at 3pm have a fresh speaker or a new film doc for an hour.
at 4 pm have tea and biccies for an hour
at 5 pm go to airport to vigil for an hour
(the hardcore locals might consier staying for 2!)

This is 3 hour not to demanding proposal that keeps things fresh.
Gives people time to meet, netowrk and socialise, build community and maintains the thension at the airport.
That there is little tension at the biggest hub for U.S. military commuting to the war is an outrage (and it's not the locals falt)

The rest of us in Ireland should mobilise twice a year to Shannon.

Set the dates and keep them annually while this war continues. I'd suggest a week after the March anniversary of the beginnning of invasion of Iraq and the second time to mobilise around Haloween, All Saints/All Souls when there is a national and cultural focus on the dead. This is what the successful Trident Ploughshares campaign has done at Faslane. It gives people from outside Ireland time to organise their travel schedules to be with you. It means you take the initiative and are not merely reacting. As soon as you lose the initiative, you lose!

(those making money out of servicing the ar machine down there should not fear their work is going to dry up
anytime soon! It's a pity they don't bring the dead and wheelchairs back through Shannon's departure lounge from whence these young Americans departedthe west to the death. They have the smarts to ship the corpses back through Saudi and the wounded through U.S. bases in Germany. So those atShannon are never confronted by the horror they continue to faciltate).

Guantanamo will not be an issue under the new Presidency both candidates will close it. Renditions will remain but the NGO and other campaign have used the Gitmo brand so much that the public will perceive problem solved with th new Presidency in January. Troop movements (and daily movemens of interrogators and torturers) remains the central issue at Shannon, even though the mainstream media has blacklisted it.

An interesting conversation, when I picked up the hammers recently at Shannon follows....
Inspector: "We don't seem to have much trouble down here anymore!"
Me "Well the war is still on and the troops are still moving through Shannon!"
Inspector: "It's not on the television!"

Says a lot uh? Go figure? Don't let tv define anti-war prioritise. It's theri medium (apoligies to DCTV!)

by lulu Fri Aug 08, 2008 21:37

Good points Ciaron, & the right side of the country for Rossport visits! Times can be adjusted for winter gatherings.
See you there, work permitting!

by Edward Horgan Fri Aug 08, 2008 23:18

I agree with most of what Ciaron says above. However, 2 demos a year at Shannon is not enough. Good idea to focus on having two major demos though. Lets try and agree on Saturday November 1st 2008, and Saturday March 24th 2009.
We intend to continue with the monthy vigils on the second Sunday of each month from 5 pm to 6 pm. If anyone wants to spend longer and organise other events before and after this vigil, fine, they will be very welcome, and encouraged to do so.
I intend to continue to recommned that people also come to Shannon on the weekend of 13 and 14 September.
For over one million dead and thousands of prisoners tortured, surely this is not too much to ask.

Shannon airport exists and is open for CIA and US military flights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days each year.
Therefore there is scope, and justification, for 365 demos at Shannon every year.
See you all at Shannon any day soon

by Security watcher Sat Aug 09, 2008 09:12

A typical day on the job at the corrib pipeline route at Glengad beach. Money well spent.

shirtsleeves on a sunny day

browsing the tabloids

by lulu Sat Aug 09, 2008 16:32

Sure it's not cheap to go driving around harrassing innocent people all day & protecting the despoilers of the land! And there's all that fitting up & court time to do when they get complaints of their brutality against peaceful protestors.

by nuachtan Sun Jun 14, 2009 12:38

According a report by John Drennan in today's Sunday Independent, the cost of the Garda operation at Bellanaboy is now being put at "more than €12m".

Of course, this could mean 12.1 million, or 100 million, or any amount really, but there must be a reason why they have chosen 12 million. It seems that that is the amount they want in the public domain.

But it raises a number of questions, given the article above, which quotes a previous article in the Independent giving 11 million as the cost of policing the protests up to August 2008.

Today's article implies then, that the Department want to give the impression that they have spent only one million euro since August last year. This covers the period when the Solitaire was in Irish waters last September. That's quite a bargain.

Also in the article, there is a lovely quote from Fine Gael Justice spokesperson Charles Flanagan. Just in case you think a change of government might signal a change in the way the Corrib dispute is handled -

The Sunday Independent reports that Flanagan attacked "self-interested protest groups whose self-indulgent activities are hindering the gardai's fight against gangland crime".

by inigo Tue Dec 29, 2009 18:43

The Department of Justice are sticking to the "more than 12 million" line. According to today's Irish Times:

"The Department of Justice confirmed that €12.6 million was spent on overtime and expenses on policing at the Corrib gas project from September 2006 to December 14th, 2009."

It seems that even in the rarefied atmosphere of government buildings, someone has noticed that these figures don't make a lot of sense, as the article continues:

"Earlier figures from the department were €8.1 million for September 2006 to October 2007, and €8.9 million up to April 2008."
(see the article above)

"The department indicated that any discrepancy might be explained by the fact the figures recently issued did not include “normal salaries”, and related to “overtime and expenses subsistence” only for the past three years and three months."
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1229/1....html

This doesn't expalin anything. How did the gardaí manage to spend 8.1 million policing a protest in the year between 2006/2007, and then police the same protest, for the following two years for half the cost of that first year?

Maybe the Department of Finance could explain? I'm sure they would like to know...

by Al Thu Dec 31, 2009 01:44

They do explain it, The first figure INCLUDED normal Garda pay whereas the second figure was overtime and Gardai brought in on temporary transfers only.

It only shos that the figures can be adjusted whenever and for whatever the government wishes but thats hardly the Gardai's fault

by a2 Thu Dec 31, 2009 22:19

This is an explanation?

"the figures recently issued did not include “normal salaries”, and related to “overtime and expenses subsistence” only for the past three years and three months."

That doesn't explain anything does it? The figures are for overtime and expenses ONLY for the last three years and three months, which takes us back to September 2006.

by Anne Fri Jan 01, 2010 02:20

There was a public meeting in Galway about the question of natural resources giveaway in July or August 2009 which was attended by Eamon O Cuiv. Towards the end of this meeting, O Cuiv said that the cost of policing Corrib was €49 MILLION. This figure has never been picked up on by the media but it might explain the fudge that's been tried through the usual channels.

The amount of police personnel provided by the State to Shell from October 2006 to September 2009 has cost a hell of a lot more than 'over €12 million'.

Who's going to ferret the real figure - Indy or MSM???

by Ae Wed Oct 13, 2010 16:00

Accordng to today's Fianna Fail friendly newspaper, the cost of the entire policing operation since Day One is only 14 million.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/garda-bill-for-....html

Cheap at the price, and getting cheaper by the day, it seems.

by carol Fri Oct 15, 2010 19:50

While bertie ahern gets his garda chauffers,courtesy of the state,what do we get,scant garda protection on our streets,just down the road from where i live(which is a very peaceful and lovely estate),were a bunch of kids from a neigbouring estate,who threw a very large piece of someone's wall pillar into the back of my neigbours car window,and then proceeded to set it alight.
I have seen these young people on my estate hoods and all,the gardai have not driven down our road since or at least made their presence known on a daily basis.
Yet they cater to every whim our government has to make,and provide full time security for bertie ahern who lives in navan.
I think the point really is ,can our gardai act independantly of our state government..

by iar t Fri Oct 15, 2010 21:42

"bertie ahern who lives in navan"

The hey what now? I thought he lived in Dublin in a house that had a, er, history...