No f irearms certs issued for PSNI, say top gardaí
SENIOR gardaí have told the Irish Mail on Sunday that it is illegal for PSNI officers to carry firearms while providing protection for Garda Commissioner Drew Harris in the Republic.
Gardaí say a protocol and a section of the Firearms Act cited by the Department of Justice and Garda management to explain the presence of armed PSNI officers around Mr Harris are a ‘smokescreen’.
The dispute follows an accident on March 25 when the PSNI Range Rover carrying Mr Harris back from Belfast hit bollards at Garda HQ in Dublin. The PSNI officers in the car were armed.
Adding his voice to the outcry over the presence of armed PSNI officers, John O’Brien, a retired detective chief superintendent, said he wants Mr Harris to explain why he is ‘condoning illegality’.
After an incident involving Mr Harris, who was travelling in a PSNI Range Rover, the Department of Justice cited a 2013 protocol that it says allows foreign officers to carry guns. It also said a section of the Firearms Act allowed their presence with guns.
But gardaí say this protocol has no legal standing and no firearms’ certificates were issued prior to the incident last month.
They also say a reference to the Firearms Act does not apply to foreign police forces. ‘Only the gardaí and the Army have the legal right to carry firearms,’ a source told the MoS.
A serving officer in Garda management said: ‘They were caught on the hop with this accident. They tried to cover up and cite a 2013 protocol, but it has no standing and besides, they didn’t issue firearms certificates under this protocol on this day.’
Mr O’Brien said the 2000 Act covered ‘hunters shooting pigeons’ and the protocol did not provide cover for use of firearms by foreign police forces.
Mr O’Brien, who controlled personal protection units before his retirement, condemned Mr Harris and the gardaí for ‘condoning illegality’.
He said he was surprised that Mr Harris had allowed PSNI officers to protect him as he had been so strong on ethics.
‘He certainly has [been strong on ethics] and good judgment and apologising when he wants to apologise for somebody else’s mistakes – that’s kind of an industry with Drew,’ said Mr O’Brien.
‘It is very simple, the question for Drew Harris and the Department of Justice: if any foreign police service are carrying firearms here, are they entitled to discharge those firearms to protect that protected person?’
The MoS revealed that Mr Harris has been provided with two armour-plated BMW SUVs with bulletproof glass.
Mr O’Brien said: ‘There is a section in the Firearms Act that allows the Minister for Justice to grant a licence to sportsmen who come here to shoot unfortunate pigeons and things. And that’s the section that they have quoted as giving the minister authority to issue a licence – it’s a total fiction. There is no legal authority that allows them to carry firearms.
‘There are citing a protocol in place since 2013, a protocol has no legal foundation and it has no operational efficiency.’
The department and gardaí issued similar statements.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said: ‘The general legal position is that under Section 2(2) (b) of the Firearms (Firearms Certificate for Non-Residents) Act 2000, the Minister for Justice and Equality has a power to grant firearms certificates to foreign personnel where it is deemed necessary to do so.
‘The views of An Garda Síochána are sought in this regard. In line with the legislation, a firearms certificate is issued in respect of the individual to whom the certificate relates.’
He added: ‘A reciprocal arrangement is in place since 2013 between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI relating to the carriage of firearms.’
‘Protocol has no legal foundation’