Garda headquarters has insisted the treatment of protesters arrested outside Leinster House on Monday was in line with the law and that an alleged “cavity search” never took place.
Meanwhile, Fiosrú, the new name for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, said it has received “a small number of calls from concerned members of the public about the media reports of the protest”.
The protest group, called Mothers Against Genocide, held an overnight demonstration in Dublin on Sunday night outside Leinster House to mark Mother’s Day and to remember women and their children killed in Gaza.
On Monday morning, 14 protesters were removed by gardaí and arrested under the Public Order Act of 1994 after allegedly blocking the entrance to the building.
The group later alleged its members were subject to strip-searches and, in one case, a cavity search.
People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett raised the matter in the Dáil on Tuesday, saying the protesters were “arrested violently and strip-searched”.
In the Dáil, he quoted one woman as saying: “I was stripped completely naked and asked to remove my underwear. When I questioned the necessity for this I was told I would be forced violently if I didn’t comply and they didn’t want any trouble. They looked inside my private area and touched all my sensitive parts.”
On Wednesday, a Garda spokeswoman said “preliminary enquiries conducted by local Garda management” found that the searches were in line with “the Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Regulations (Criminal Justice Act, 1984)”.
She said the force also “refutes any allegation that a cavity search took place”.
It is understood the searches of the women were conducted by female gardaí, as required by law, who were not part of the arresting team.
The Irish Times understands that, after the claims about the treatment of the women, particularly one, were made in the Dáil, senior Garda officers reviewed CCTV footage of interactions between the women and gardaí at Pearse Street station. Bodycam footage, recorded by gardaí who were present, has also been reviewed.
Garda sources said nothing was discovered that warranted placing any gardaí under investigation, insisting members acted professionally and in accordance with procedures regarding prisoners in custody.
In law, strip-searches refer to requiring an arrested person to strip entirely naked. The practice is relatively rare and is governed by legislation and internal Garda protocols.
For example, the Criminal Justice Act of 1984, which deals with suspects arrested for serious offences, states that strip-searches are only allowed if someone is believed to be concealing drugs or explosives.
Other legislation says strip-searches can only take place in the presence of someone of the same gender unless the suspect is judged to be particularly violent.
Furthermore, strip-searches should “where practicable” be carried out by a doctor.
However, the rules around strip-searches have been criticised as confusing and open to interpretation.
A 2021 report by the Garda Inspectorate found there was “a lack of awareness” among gardaí of when strip-searches could be carried out.
“It was also unclear, from the custody records examined, the extent to which searches were conducted and the justification for them,” it said.
The inspectorate called for stronger safeguards and clearer procedures in the area of strip-searches.
On Wednesday, Dún Laoghaire TD Mr Boyd Barrett said he had no reason to doubt the group’s claims and he alleged the arrests of the women were “very heavy handed”.
Asked for comment, a representative of Mothers Against Genocide said: “We stand over the experiences of the people that were arrested.”
The spokesperson reiterated the assertion that people experienced “strip searches, degrading treatment and cavity search”.
“We note the various Gardaí accounts appearing in the media. We are in the process of receiving legal advice in relation to complaints.”
