Irish police officers are threatening not to show up for duty when President Donald Trump arrives needing protection, according to a new report.
Rank-and-file gardaí are fuming after being told to foot the bill for their own accommodation, with the Garda Representative Association warning officers left badly out of pocket were feeling “used and abused,” reported the Irish Mirror this week.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly designated the visit an “extraordinary event” over the summer due to the scale of the policing operation, dubbed Operation Far Sunrise, spanning Dublin, Shannon and Trump’s golf resort in Doonbeg, County Clare.
That status cancelled leave, altered rest days and halted training to free up thousands of officers nationwide.
A circulated Garda document told members they would have to “manage their own accommodation needs,” with subsistence for self-booked rooms capped at just under $185 a night — and hotel rooms near Doonbeg were quoted at anywhere from $1,160 to $18,573 for the period.
“There’s a use-and-abuse policy from management and they’re expecting lads to just show up,” one source told the Mirror. “It’s not good enough and there’s a feeling that people will refuse to turn up, go sick, or even walk if this happens again.”
Another source said the Trump visit has already turned into a “s— show.”
GRA President Niall Hodgins called the situation “nothing short of a shambles” at the time, noting that during past high-profile visits, including those of Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II, the Garda organization itself had centrally arranged lodging, including student housing.
Gardaí deployed to Clare told the Irish Mirror they were left to pay for accommodation and childcare after being sent at short notice, with some notified they’d work five nights only to be told this week they were needed just for the weekend — after already booking and paying for lodging.
Others assigned near Doonbeg were housed in Galway city, more than 80 miles away. Sources described morale as low, with requests for subsistence and travel entitlements refused, and some warning members might call in sick or refuse to show rather than absorb further costs.
Hodgins escalated his criticism this week, accusing Garda management of “trampling on the rights and entitlements” of members and describing a recruitment and retention problem forcing married garda couples to be pulled from their children to fill staffing gaps.
An Garda Síochána disputed that characterization, saying it has “the second highest number of Gardaí in the history of the State,” an annual resignation rate of just 1 percent, and 11,000 applicants over the past year.
It declined to address the specific accommodation costs or the changed approach from past state visits, though it acknowledged a recent Comptroller and Auditor General report had been critical of how it books lodging for major events.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, asked about Garda capacity ahead of the visit, said he was confident in the Commissioner’s assurances and that “very significant resources” had been allocated.
Trump is due to meet President Catherine Connolly and Martin on Saturday before traveling to Doonbeg for the Irish Open.
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