New strategy tackles rash of arson attacks

‘A crisis for the guards’

GARDAÍ are in the process of implementing a new strategy to tackle arson and criminal damage incidents at buildings which are to be used by asylum seekers, the Irish Daily Mail has learned.

The latest arson attack took place yesterday when a convent in Longford was set ablaze.

This is the 15th arson incident on centres such as these since Covid restrictions lifted, according to the Irish Refugee Council.

There have been at least 12 confirmed attacks since January last year. Also, other incidents, such as a vacant building in the Beaumont area of Dublin being set on fire on Tuesday night, have not officially been ruled out as the same sort of attack.

The facility in the Lanesboro area of Longford was to house 85 Ukrainian people fleeing war.

Now, as a result of the growing number of incidents of this type, gardaí are attempting to be more proactive with how they manage any potential attack.

While sources have said it’s ‘basically impossible to be everywhere at once’, the Mail understands intelligence-based policing will lead to more Garda patrols in areas which could be targeted by anti-migrant activists.

Gardaí are said to be in the middle of doing more to police rural and remote locations which would not have the same amount of cover as cities such as Dublin, Cork and Limerick.

While static patrols have not been entirely ruled out, it has been learned that members of the elite Special Detective Unit (SDU), who have been following many of the violent agitators, are now streamlining how their intelligence gets to local management, who will then order resources to watch different areas potentially under threat.

The SDU has its own squad which is collating details of extremists as well as their locations and the social media accounts they are believed to be either in control of or directing.

A source explained: ‘At least 15 attacks on these kinds of properties is a crisis for the guards as well as the Government. What is happening now is that there are gardaí out there whose job it is to collect information on these people and to investigate what protests they are targeting’.