Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

On reading the preliminary Garda report, it is clear the Garda did not have a clue about what was going to happen and it was totally in the dark. The only person who had prior knowledge was the Taoiseach on Friday night but, according to the report, he did not transmit the information to the Garda. More gardaí will be bussed to Shannon Airport to protect President George Bush when his aeroplane lands, even though he will not set foot on Irish soil, than were on duty on O'Connell Street last Saturday.

We must ask ourselves a number of questions. Whose reckless actions endangered the lives of the citizens of Dublin and gardaí; caused millions of euro worth of damage to property in central Dublin; damaged the reputation of the capital city in the eyes of the world; and damaged the peace process?

The television shots of Dublin burning, rampaging youths with scarves hiding their faces, and stones, bricks, poles and even wheelbarrows flying through the air in the direction of gardaí tell a tale of organised confrontation, violence and mayhem. Thugs of a Nationalist hue, sundry hangers-on and local opportunists brought terror and destruction to the heart of Dublin on Saturday. Dubliners witnessed something they had scarcely witnessed even at the height of the conflict in Northern Ireland. As the bulletins were broadcast throughout the afternoon and ambulance and police sirens screamed ferrying the injured to hospital and those arrested to custody, a nation was shocked and stunned that this sustained violence could erupt without warning and, like a tsunami, engulf the city for more than three hours. If it were not for the courage of the thin blue line of gardaí who stood their ground, though completely taken by surprise and shell shocked by the ferocity and viciousness of the attackers, more damage to life and limb would have ensued. I was present for a good part of the afternoon and witnessed how ill-equipped and ill-prepared they were for what happened.

The dust has settled and the endless road works continue into yet another year on O'Connell Street but now that the Garda report has been submitted on the proximate causes of the riotous behaviour and the Garda state of preparedness, it is time to identify the mistakes made and learn lessons for the future. A decision was made to route the first Northern Unionist march to be held in Dublin from Parnell Square to Leinster House via O'Connell Street. The marchers assembled at the Garden of Remembrance, a potent symbol of republicanism, even more so in this the 90th anniversary of 1916. The offices of Sinn Féin are located on the other side of the square, while the offices of Republican Sinn Féin are a couple of hundred yards down Parnell Street. Passing the statue of Parnell at the junction of Parnell Square and O'Connell Street, the Love Ulster marchers would have been able to read the bold legend, "No man has a right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation", on the Parnell monument. They would then have been on the main thoroughfare of the city, on which is located the iconic republican symbol of 1916 — the GPO.

Careful organisers would have seen the potential for conflict and confrontation in the route chosen but nobody apparently did. Careful organisers would have seen the potential for missiles in the stones, bricks and poles of the construction site that littered virtually the entirety of O'Connell Street. Blaming Dublin City Council for not securing these works is wide of the mark because they could not be secured. Careful organisers would have gratefully accepted the marchers' stated willingness to take whatever safe marching route to Leinster House was presented to them by their hosts. Alas, there were no careful organisers of the march.

Careful managers of the march would have seen the potential for confrontation; obtained extensive intelligence of subversive plans for disruption; ensured their police forces were sufficient for every threat to life, limb and property; ensured their forces were furnished with the necessary equipment to control rioting thugs and to protect themselves against injury; ensured traders were warned of the threat of impending danger to their customers and property; and taken all steps to ensure their marching guests were not exposed to danger.

Was the political planning poor? Was the route wrong? Was the intelligence non-existent? Was the Garda unprepared? It is difficult to avoid an affirmative answer to all these key questions. The Garda report results from an internal Garda examination. It can only ask the questions and seek the answers arising from Garda management's perception of its role, actions and effectiveness. It cannot cover all the ground or ask all the questions. It certainly cannot give all the answers.

In Northern Ireland, arising from the crises at Drumcree and the Garvaghy Road, the Parades Commission was established to make recommendations and to take measures to avoid occasions of confrontation, provocation and conflict. None of the wisdom accumulated by the Parades Commission has found its way to the corridors of power in Leinster House or Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park.

The ball is firmly in the Minister's court; the buck stops with him. He has a duty to ensure the appropriate inquisitorial structures are put in place. It seems that an independent inquiry, a call echoed by the Garda Representative Association, into all the circumstances surrounding the ill-fated march in my constituency in Dublin is the only way to get to the heart of the matter and to ensure the hard lessons will be learned.

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