New body armour being rolled out for public order Gardai

An Garda Siochana announced today (Thursday) that upgraded body armour is being rolled out nationwide to members of its public order unit.

The purchase of the new equipment involved "an initial investment of over €3.6 million" with personal-issue body armour being provided to each of the more than 1,500 trained public order Gardaí.

The force said the new body armour includes "a number of enhanced operational and safety features," including enhanced fire safety material with integrated metatarsal and ankle protection; Slash, stab and impact protection; and MOLLE (Modular, Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment) webbing, allowing for the carriage of tactical equipment.

"Each public order member will be fitted on-site for their new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), ensuring that the armour can be correctly adjusted for each individual Garda," stated An Garda Síochána.

"The armour will be worn in three different levels in line with a graduated response, from soft cap deployment to full public order PPE," it added.

The new body armour comes after An Garda Síochána recently procured two water cannon for use in significant public disorder incidents, along with round shields for mobility in specific public order scenarios and modernised specialist public order transport vehicles.