Furious west Dublin councillors have demanded an apology for "disgusting" comments made by gardai in an upcoming documentary series comparing the area to Beirut.
The remarks were made by members of An Garda Siochana in a trailer for 'The Guards: Inside The K' which is set to air on Wednesday 4th March at 9pm.
The documentary will follow gardai in the K District, which covers Finglas, Blanchardstown and Cabra.
In the trailer one garda member can be heard comparing the area to the Lebanese capital while a senior garda says members who survive serving in the district should "be given a medal".
A group of Fingal County Councillors slammed the comments this afternoon after they were inundated with complaints from constituents.
Councillor Tania Doyle brought a motion before the Mulhuddart/Castleknock/Ongar Area Committee of Fingal County Council demanding an apology from An Garda Siochana and promising to report the programme to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
She said: "I find it absolutely disgusting, because I'm actually from one of these areas myself.
"'Wouldn't tell my mother where I worked', 'The district is a mad spot'. These are some of the inflammatory words that have been used in this documentary so I think it's very important that we send a very very strong message as ourselves as public reps, An Garda Siochana are also public reps and to label communities and castigate them as well it's just not acceptable."
The Independent councillor received unanimous support for the motion as councillors expressed their shock at the comments made.
Councillor Mary McCamley said it was was "horrible to hear public representatives saying what they said" while Councillor Breda Hanaphy said "trust was broken" between the local community and An Garda Siochana.
Councillor Natalie Treacy said the programme would set the area back 20 or 30 years.
She added: "We spend a lot of time trying to engage young people in activities in the area, trying to make the place look nice.
"We engage with the JPC, we have the housing forum meeting where the guards come in and speak to us and they actually asked us to be actively engaging and to make sure that we're talking on a positive note to our local residents about the guards and about the work they do. That has to work both ways."
Daniel Whooley slammed the programme for "fearmongering" when it could have been used to show the good work the guards do it the area.
He added: "There was a lot of good work done, and a lot of the community truly get involved.
"When they see their work undermined by comments by the by guards, off the cuff comments, and then nationalized and broadcasted on a national media station, it hurts people to hurt to put in the area, and not only that but if you are living in the area and you see comments like that it's very hard to believe that you, and this area can be seen as equal."
Councillor John Walsh said he had been previously told at crime prevention meetings by senior gardai that they are "heavily under-resourced" and he would have preferred that the show put across that message rather than an "apocalyptic vision of the area".
Councillor Howard Mahony, who previous served as a garda in the K District in the 1980s and 1990s, reminded councillors the trailer was only a "snapshot" of the upcoming programme.
But he added: "Certainly, the comments that some of these members were passing were totally unsuitable, unprofessional and did not reflect well on the police force and the police force certainly in the K District."
A garda spokeswoman said: "An Garda Síochána does not comment on remarks by third parties.
"Throughout the four-part series Garda members including the Chief Superintendent and Superintendent over the K District repeatedly state their view that the vast majority of people living in the area are decent, law-abiding people, and that there is only a very small minority involved in criminality.
"For example, Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy says in the programme, “DMR West has the potential to be one of finest places in Ireland and there are some people already enjoying that already. However, the behaviour of a few presents huge challenges”.
"The series, which is an independent production for Virgin Media, shows the reality of what Garda members have to face in tackling that challenge to keep people safe.
"We would ask people to view and judge the series, which runs to several hours, as a whole."
