Garda Síochána are considering deploying a small number of Gardaí to Disneyland

The Gardaí would be present to assist Irish nationals visiting Disneyland and other tourist areas in France.

The idea has been met with mixed reviews in the Dáil, where Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said she was “really perplexed” by the “strange decision”.

Following a request from the French authorities, An Garda Síochána have said they’re discussing with French policing colleagues a temporary assignment of a very small number of Gardaí to work with them in assisting Irish tourists in certain parts of France during the summer. The assignment would be subject to approval by the Irish Government.

A similar scheme was implemented last year, with Gardaí patrolling the Mont Saint Michel area of Normandy during the months of July and August.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána told Lovin:

This temporary assignment is in response to a request received, by the Garda Commissioner, from the French Government to Ireland seeking the deployment of Garda members to provide operational assistance in certain tourist areas of France during the months of July and August 2022.

 The primary purpose of the deployment is to assist French police in dealing with Irish nationals visiting the area. This is similar to arrangements in other areas of France involving the temporary deployment of German, Spanish and Dutch police officers.

The request is for the deployment of two Garda members in July  and a further deployment of two members in August.

Garda members are to patrol in uniform with French police officers and assist in the investigation of complaints by, or offences involving, Irish nationals.

In response to the idea at the Dáil, TD Jennifer Whitmore said that migrant campsites were being burned out “literally a stone’s throw from the Dáil” while the Taoiseach raised concerns about “gardaí numbers and whether we have enough numbers of gardaí to police the far-right in this country”.

“Indeed, you could go to any community across the country and people would like to see more gardaí on the streets,” Ms Whitmore added.

Header image via Getty & Facebook/An Garda Síochána

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