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2019 Sinn Féin Voices Opposition To Stormont Garda To Send Armed Police Unit
To Border Ahead Of Brexit
18th, Having A Veto On Backstop a r m e d
A new
September inn Féin’s deputy leader has p o l i c e
s u p p o r t
voiced her opposition to a
unit will

backstop.
| SStormont veto on the Irish be moved
closer to
Michelle O’Neill said her
EXAMINER party does not support such a in prepa-
the border
veto because “a backstop that
ration for
can be vetoed is not a back-
Brexit, the
IRISH stop”. found to restore the Assembly O’Neill described the backstop g a r d a
It comes after reports that
commissioner has said.
the DUP might endorse the
Commissioner Drew Harris was speaking to a Dáil justice
contingency plan aimed at pre- and Executive at Stormont. as a “no brainer if we are to committee on Wednesday, when a number of representa-
venting a hard border if the Earlier, EU chief negotiator build a prosperous economy”. tives asked about concerns surrounding the UK’s departure
devolved institutions would Michel Barnier said: “It is up to “Sinn Féin do not support a from the EU in relation to crime and disorder.
have a veto on future EU rules the UK government to ensure Stormont veto because a back- “Overall we are ready, we’ve been, in effect, thinking
applying in the region. the support of the Northern stop that can be vetoed is not a about this for two years and building up resources in the bor-
The backstop proposes pre- Irish institutions for the backstop,” she said. der area during that time,” Mr Harris said.
venting a hard border in Ireland Withdrawal Agreement that “It is highly unlikely that the “We have a passing out parade in November and that will
by keeping the UK closely would be signed on behalf of EU would either, and we’ve allow us to further supplement the border counties.
aligned to Brussels’ rules. the whole of the UK.” heard further evidence of this “We’ve built up resources around our armed support unit,
The devolved government Last month, the pro-remain over the past day or so from at the moment we have about 30 more members trained and
in Northern Ireland remains parties in Northern Ireland, Guy Verhofstadt, Michel ready.
collapsed following a break- including Sinn Féin, sent a joint Barnier and Jean Claude Junker “We’re also looking towards the introduction of an armed
down in relations between the letter to European Council pres- – why? – because the Article 50 support unit in Cavan to reduce response times in the border
DUP and Sinn Féin in January ident Donald Tusk confirming negotiation is between the area, so there’s a lot more to come, but we’re very aware of
2017. their support for the backstop. EU27 and the British the Brexit challenges.
Despite multiple rounds of Speaking at an event in Government, not the Assembly “We have increased numbers in the border area, and mak-
talks, agreement has not be Belfast on Wednesday, Ms and the EU.” C ing further investment in armed support in Cavan through
the new operating model we will further enhance policing
around the border counties.
“We ourselves are in a high state of planning and prep for
October and for what it’ll mean in short and medium term
for policing in Ireland.”
Mr Harris refused to be drawn into speculation about pos-
sible violence in the event of a no-deal Brexit, which has been
forecast by many, including dissident republican groups, if
customs or border posts are introduced, as the UK becomes
a third country with an EU border.
“I’m not going to speculate on what border infrastructure
is going to be, I’m responsible for providing a policing serv-
ice to protect society,” he said.
“As yet, I don’t know what Brexit we’re getting, and there-
fore what will be the ramifications of that.
“There are three various elements, organised crime,
threat from dissident republican groups and the impact on
local communities.
“Regrettably, in respect of the impact from dissident
groups, we’ve already seen this year six national security
attacks in Northern Ireland and we ourselves have had to
cope with that demand and respond and support the PSNI
and conduct our own investigative efforts against these
groups.
“There has been an uptick in demand, which has caused
strain on the organization, but we’re prepared for that, and
working hard to thwart those threats.
Mr Harris has been transformational for the Irish police
force as he closes in on his first year in the job, after a com-
plete overhaul was called for after years of scandals within
An Garda Siochana.
The latest will see the national force reduced from six divi-
sional regions to four, however Mr Harris says due to Brexit,
the border unit will be the last to see any structural change.
“In respect of implementation, we’ll want to be certain
about the processes before we go to the border.
“There’s enough happening in the border divisions at the
moment without telling them on November 1, ‘Guess what?
You’re also doing structural change’.
“We’ll hold off until we get some certainty on what the
Brexit position is likely to be.”C