The Garda Commissioner has said gardaí are actively investigating abuse, harassment and threats to gardaí, Defence Forces personnel and members of the public online and in person during the recent fuel protests.
Justin Kelly said four incident rooms have been set up in the four garda divisions with the investigations led by senior investigating officers.
He said they had identified and were investigating a number of incidents where gardaí, members of the Defence Forces and drivers were intimidated and threatened.
In one case, the home address of a garda from Waterford who was on duty at one of the blockades was posted online and he and his family were threatened.
Commissioner Kelly was speaking as the Garda Representative Association (GRA) opened its annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo yesterday and it is continuing today with attendances by Commissioner Kelly and the Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan.
Commissioner Kelly said those found to have committed criminal offences during what he called "blockades" will be prosecuted.
He said he had watched some footage online and described some of the actions as "appalling behaviour".
He said he has also asked gardaí and any others affected to contact the incident rooms.
Commissioner Kelly's comments come as motions are due to be debated on pursuit driving and threats to gardaí.
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Garda Peter Firth detailed earlier how one of his colleagues in Waterford, who policed the fuel protest had his photograph posted online and altered by AI. His family were threatened and the address of their home was published online.
He was also wrongly accused of pepper spraying a child. The abuse and threats are now subject of a criminal investigation.
Garda Mark Ferris from Blanchardstown said all gardaí need to be trained to pursue scrambler bikes and criminals, as police in the UK are, and should be issued with a driving licence solely for work.
Minister to consider if further legislation is needed
Minister for Justice Jim O Callaghan has said that people who, from an anonymous online platform, harass or intimidate gardaí will be met with the full force of the law.
He told the GRA conference that it was totally unacceptable for "online anonymous cowards to seek to intimidate members of An Garda Síochána".
He said the laws are there, harassment, criminal legislation and the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act but he would consider if further legislation is needed.
He also said that the publicity of people being convicted of harassing and intimidating gardaí online sends out a very strong message and is a strong deterrent.
He said the reason many people cover their faces is because they do not want a photograph taken and releasing mugshots is something he would consider.
Suspension of garda over bicycle loan 'shameful', conference hears
The suspension of a garda, for giving a man in his community in Co Westmeath the lend of a bicycle during Covid, has been described as "a shameful stain" on the garda organisation.
The emotional, financial, personal and professional toll on the lives and careers of suspended gardaí and their families was recognised at the GRA conference today as eight such serving gardaí were brought on stage to a standing ovation.
All eight gardaí were suspended by the former commissioner Drew Harris but subsequently found years later to have done nothing wrong.
Detective Garda Eamon Cunnane gave the loan of a bicycle to a man in his community in Co Westmeath during Covid in June 2020.
Det Gda Cunnane's home was searched, he was subject first to a criminal investigation, then to a disciplinary inquiry until he was finally vindicated almost five years later.
He has since sued the State and received over a quarter of a million euro but the events have, according to the GRA, left a shameful stain on the garda organisation.
The other seven gardaí were from Limerick and Clare. Two of them, Colin Geary and Tom McGlinchey, were accused of perverting the course of justice in relation to cancelling penalty points but found not guilty.
Three others, Niall Deegan, Paul Baynham and Peter O’Donnell, were charged but not proceeded against and the other two Alan Griffin and John Shanahan were never prosecuted.
All seven were suspended for five and a half years before being reinstated.
Gardaí at the conference agreed with an urgent motion that the current suspension policy is not fair and equitable and voted unanimously this morning for the Garda Commissioner to implement a fully independent appeals process for suspended members.
The Garda Commissioner said cases like those of the garda who was exonerated after he had been suspended and investigated for lending a bicycle to a man during Covid would be dealt with differently today.
Comm Kelly said he would not comment on the specific case of Det Gda Eamon Cunnane but said that since then "the whole landscape had changed quite considerably".
He said the National Bureau of Criminal Investigations was at the time involved in internal investigations which are now dealt with by the Anti Corruption Unit and Fiosrú.
He also said if an incident like this happened today it would be referred to those bodies.
The Commissioner also insisted that the decision to suspend a garda is not taken lightly and that over a third of the 98 members currently on suspension are under investigation for corruption, organised crime offences, domestic violence and coercive control.
Concerns expressed over policing EU Presidency
Meanwhile, rank and file gardaí say they are concerned they will not have sufficient resources to police the forthcoming EU Presidency and that the Garda Commissioner may have to declare it another 'exceptional' policing event.
Comm Kelly recently had to declare - for the first time - an exceptional event and cancel all annual leave and rest days to ensure there were sufficient gardaí to police fuel protests earlier this month.
The GRA said it is concerned that this will become a more common occurrence, to comprehensively police events around Ireland's assumption of the rotating presidency of the EU, which runs from July to Christmas this year.
Deputy General Secretary James Morrisroe said a national policing plan is required for these events.
Comm Kelly said this afternoon that he was confident that gardaí can deliver a safe and secure environment when policing the forthcoming EU Presidency.
He said plans were at a very advanced stage.
He also said Assistant Commissioner Catherina Gunne was carrying out a review of the policing of the recent fuel protests.
Gardaí also say there is a question over whether they are getting the right people in the force because vetting has not been completed by the time recruits start training in the Garda College in Templemore.
In some cases, they say candidates have been failed the week before they were due to graduate, having already had access to police procedures and confidential information.
Garda Ness Durkan from Co Louth said they want garda vetting of all new recruits to be completed before admission.
GRA welcomes 'achievement' of Kinahan arrest
The GRA welcomed the arrest of Daniel Kinahan in Dubai, and said it was proud of what it described as this "achievement".
Gardaí at the conference, who have been policing the Hutch-Kinahan feud for ten years say they, and the communities they work with, have come through a difficult time and have moved from "despair to repair".
The Garda Commissioner described the arrest as "very significant".
Comm Kelly said they were also continuing to focus on the other members of the Kinahan organised crime group including Daniel Kinahan's father Christy Senior and Christopher junior, who have both also been sanctioned by the US authorities.
"We're going to be relentless around individuals who have caused murder and mayhem here in Ireland, responsible for, as you will all know, a significant number of homicides, including two innocent people," he said.
"Our focus is on the victims, the victims' families, the destruction that they've caused to some of our societies here in Ireland."
He also praised the Departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs for their political and diplomatic work, the former garda commissioner Drew Harris and the late assistant commissioner John O'Driscoll who made the arrest possible.
It is the first time a Garda Commissioner has publicly named Daniel Kinahan.
GRA Vice President Niall Hodgins, who is stationed at Mountjoy Garda Station, singled out Mr O'Driscoll for his investigative work leading to Daniel Kinahan’s arrest, which he described as "poignant".
He described Mr O’Driscoll as "a fantastic policeman" and said it was "a shame he's not here to witness what happened last week".
He also commended the work of Comm Kelly and the investigation team, and said that with the new garda management team "we have hope and we look forward to what the new commissioner will bring".
