Controversy over the Shell gas pipeline in Co Mayo has eroded trust in An Garda Siochána while threatening the culture and values of the area, an international investigation has found.
US-based human rights and environmental group Global Community Monitor (GCM) said the lack of intervention from a European or world level threatens to spark an even more explosive situation at Bellanaboy.
The organisation claims to have gathered evidence of Garda brutality, malpractice and intimidation against campaigners opposed to the Corrib gas project. It sent a five-member international delegation to the area surrounding the contentious refinery for four days in February.
In a report published today, the group claimed it had evidence of young people, women and the elderly being beaten without provocation by the gardaí.
"Even high-ranking officers were personally involved in beating up protesters," the delegation's report states.
The inquiry claims gardaí followed and confronted protesters who were going about their private business, officers verbally threatened people without cause and denied or delayed emergency medical treatment to injured campaigners.
Gardaí also did not follow basic procedures such as displaying their identification badges and warning protesters before taking physical action, it concluded. The delegation said people had lost faith in the force because they believed complaints were not being acted upon.
The GCM report said the behaviour of officers on various occasions implied they were either not trained in managing peaceful protests and civil disobedience or were not using their training.
The Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission said it is investigating 27 cases involving complaints against gardaí policing the Corrib gas plant protests.
A Garda spokesman said the force would await receipt of the report before making any comment on the matter.