Dublin braces for EU summit security operation and planned public sector strike on 12 November

Security zones and road closures

Ireland will host two EU presidency meetings in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November and Friday, 13 November, and An Garda Síochána is planning the largest policing and security operation in the history of the State. On Thursday, around 50 European leaders are due at the Convention Centre Dublin for the European Political Community meeting, followed by a formal dinner at the National Gallery of Ireland hosted by Taoiseach Micheál Martin. An informal meeting of EU heads of state or government follows at the convention centre on Friday. Restrictions begin on Tuesday, 10 November, when a security zone comes into force around the convention centre with no cycling, walking or vehicular access permitted, and North Wall Quay closes to traffic and pedestrians from 7am until Friday evening. A cordon around the National Gallery of Ireland starts at 7am on Wednesday, 11 November, and a wider cordon with the Samuel Beckett Bridge closed to traffic begins at 8pm that day.

Transport and hospital access

Jennifer Gilna, head of communications at the National Transport Authority, said public transport will run nationally, but security arrangements have forced diversions on key bus corridors into the city. All buses will be diverted from the quays east of Customs House, an area gardaí will close off, and disruption is expected from Tuesday, 10 November until Friday, 13 November, with normal schedules resuming on Saturday, 14 November. Speaking to RTÉ Radio 1, she warned:

“If you're in a private car you will be impacted and it's about how you go in and out of the city centre and where you're actually going to.”

At the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street, the Master, Professor Jennifer Walsh, said emergency vehicle access will be maintained for the full security operation and that parking nearby will not be permitted. People with standard appointments are advised to leave early, and Walsh stressed:

“Obviously, if there's an emergency, you will have access.”

Planned strike and pay talks

Ictu is continuing to plan a strike on Thursday, 12 November, the day of the European Political Community meeting, and public sector unions have warned of a second 24-hour strike that day if pay talks do not progress. Rallies are planned from 12pm to 2pm in eight towns and cities, including Dublin, Cork City and Galway City. The Government's current offer is a two-and-a-half-year deal from July 2026 to November 2028 that would raise wages by 6.75%, which unions say is not enough even with an extra percentage point for local bargaining. Pay talks were adjourned on Friday, 30 October, and the group led by Workplace Relations Commission chair Kevin Foley finished its engagement on Wednesday, 4 November with no date set for the next meeting. Kevin Callinan, chair of Ictu's Public Services Committee, said on Wednesday that action will intensify after 12 November if no deal is reached, adding:

“I don't think that we'll have another nationwide one-day strike, but there are various sectoral actions under consideration.”

Timing ahead of the meetings

The group could meet again on Friday, 6 November, and hopes are growing in Leinster House that a deal can be struck before the planned protest. Dublin city is expected to come to a standstill on Thursday, 12 November, with sweeping traffic restrictions across both north and south of the county. Ictu says action will intensify after 12 November without a deal. The security operation ends on Friday, 13 November.