MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Charlie Flanagan has announced plans to regulate private security employed to assist in enforcing court orders.

Flanagan ordered his officials to review the situation surrounding these operators, and what regulation existed, in the wake of the removal of a number of activists from a vacant property on Dublin’s North Frederick Street.

The incident in September saw a group of individuals working on behalf of the owner moving in to clear protesters out of the occupied building. Gardaí – whose faces were covered – also attended the scene.

Private security operators (in the building doorway) conducted the North Frederick Street eviction last September. Gardaí can be seen in the foreground Source: TheJournal.ie

The conduct of gardaí was criticised, and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris later said he would change how the organisation manages repossessions in the future. While gardaí do not have a role in enforcing court orders, they are required to keep the peace in such situations from time to time.

The issue of private security operators conducting evictions was thrown into the spotlight again in December, when members of a family were removed from their home during an eviction in Strokestown, Roscommon.

Violence subsequently ensued after a number of other individuals arrived at the scene.

What the Justice Minister is now proposing is a change in the law that will mean enforcement guards employed to enforce court orders will be subject to the training standards and licencing regime operated by the Private Security Authority (PSA).

Officials at the Department of Justice will now work with the Attorney General to bring draft amendments to the Private Security Services Act, 2004.

With reporting from Christina Finn and Hayley Halpin

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