“The malfunction was quickly fixed.”
An Garda Síochána have denied that a security incident took place at Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park on 25 March.
Gardaí said that a vehicle which was damaged at the gate of the Garda headquarters was due to a newly installed bollard which malfunctioned, catching the underside of a vehicle.
RTÉ reported this week that Commissioner Drew Harris was being driven back to Dublin in an unmarked, northern registered PSNI vehicle when security procedures were activated.
The Garda on the gate had not been informed that Harris would be arriving in this vehicle and activated the security procedures, RTÉ said. This resulted in a bollard rising into the engine of the vehicle.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, Gardaí denied that a security incident had taken place and blamed the incident on a malfunctioning bollard.
“There was no security incident at Garda HQ on 25 March 2019,” the statement read.
“A newly installed bollard malfunctioned and caught the underside of the vehicle the Commissioner was travelling in.
“This happened at a walking pace. No vehicles were flipped. The malfunction was quickly fixed and vehicular traffic went in and out of Garda HQ as normal that day.
“As per our previous statement, normal movement procedures were followed in relation to the Commissioner.”
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