Protect our emergency services with full force of law

THE weekend"s Hallowe"en attacks on the emergency services in Dublin should never happen again. Brave fire fighters and gardaí were subjected to assaults and abuse as they tried to tackle fires and public order incidents during the festivities. Two gardaí were taken to hospital after they were injured following an altercation with a group of thugs in Dublin. The gang of eight attacked the gardaí, who were on foot patrol in Dublin"s Dorset Street and this resulted in the two officers being taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment. Furthermore, a fireman received an eye injury and a fire engine was attacked by a gang of youths as the emergency services attempted to put out an extended bonfire in Dublin"s inner city. The windscreen of the fire engine was also smashed in the attack in a night that saw 800 call-out fire incidents in the Dublin area alone. Some six knife attacks and almost half of all calls related to assault, were reported to the fire service. The ambulance service received more than 500 calls and around 50 cars were set on fire in the city where several buildings set alight. The situation was just as bad up North, where the police were attacked with petrol bombs and fireworks. The regional control centre in Lisburn received a call approximately every minute on one night alone at the weekend. Gardaí and the fire services were also stretched to the limit and even targeted in some cases in parts of the county. There have been many incidents in the past where our emergency services have been attacked and maimed and the culprits have subsequently walked free from the courts with a slap on the wrist. It is up to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to get tough and protect both citizens and emergency services from such serious attacks. The bill for the weekend"s attacks is estimated to be in the region of €1 million. The unfair upshot of this is that a firefighter or garda, who was beaten up during the weekend will have to pay through their hard-earned taxes for the damage caused by violent thugs. Furthermore, hospital staff, who regularly have been bitten and spat at while helping to treat aggressive drunk A&E patients, will also have to deal with the consequences of abuse/injuries while their attackers walk home laughing because they believe they are untouchable. If Minister Ahern doesn"t immediately deal with the current situation, then it is only a matter of time before lives are lost because emergency services are prevented from attending a fire or serious accident. The message must be clear: attack a uniformed emergency officer and a lengthy jail sentence will be imposed. Our emergency services deserve the height of respect and protection as they tirelessly endeavour to make our lives safe by occasionally putting their own lives at risk in the frontline of mindless aggression.