Andrew Carey
LIMERICK city council has no plans to train its staff in self-defence because they have not been subjected to threats or intimidation from the public.
Council spokesman John Brosnan confirmed with the Limerick Post that the measures taken by Cork City Council to have their frontline staff trained to deal with aggressive situations would not be replicated in Limerick.
“We have no plans to train staff in self-defence as the need has not arisen. However we are always adapting to the training needs that the council requires.”
The move in Cork, the first by an Irish local authority, came after a spate of staff complaints about threats and intimidation.
The majority of these threats were encountered by workers dealing directly with the public in areas such as traffic management, sanitation and street cleaning, as well as park supervision.
“Staffing needs may change, and we are here to train in line with those changes, but as of yet we have not had a request for any training of this type.”
However, city manager Kieran Lehane said that security measures are in place for “lone council staff working away from City Hall and we are always conscious as to the health and safety of our staff”.
Both Mr Lehane and Mr Brosnan said they were unaware of need for self-defence training as any incidents of threats or intimidation similar to those experienced by Cork City Council staff had not been recorded in Limerick.
“Thankfully and as far as I am aware, we haven’t experienced any of that to date”, added Mr Lehane
