A WOMAN HAS been accused of spraying an unknown chemical substance to “temporarily blind” a garda who was attacked and injured while arresting a suspected car thief in Dublin.

Frances Harrison, 31, with an address at College Hill, Terenure, Dublin, was charged with assaulting the officer at Basin Street flats in the south inner city during the incident on Thursday night.

She is also accused of a connected offence of being a passenger in a stolen rental GoCar car on the same date.

The visibly upset woman was refused bail when she appeared before Judge John Campbell at Dublin District Court today.

Garda Sergeant Hugh O’Carroll alleged it happened at 9.45 p.m. after GoCar notified gardaí that a tracking device had been removed from one of their cars.

Two gardaí observed the car at Basin Street flats “driven at speed with no lights,” and the tracking device was on the side of the road.

The sergeant objected to bail and alleged the accused was identified at the scene by the officers and from mobile phone footage circulated on social media.

The sergeant said there was also CCTV footage from the area. He alleged she had been a passenger in the car before the car stopped.

The sergeant said the two officers were trying to arrest the driver when the accused allegedly “sprayed an unknown chemical substance”.

The court heard the one garda was “temporarily blind” after the chemical was sprayed into his eyes and must go to a follow-up appointment with an eye specialist.

Both gardaí were injured and have already attended hospital. They now remain off duty.

The contested bail hearing was told, “a number of locals came out to intimidate gardaí” while the driver made his escape. More gardaí arrived after an urgent call for assistance.

Defence counsel Kevin McCrave (instructed by solicitor Eddie O’Connor) pointed out that it was a rented car and his client could not have known it was stolen or that the tracking device had been removed.

The sergeant accepted that she had not rented the vehicle and did not drive the car.

Questioned further, he agreed he did not witness the incident and that none of the officers involved were at court to give evidence.

Pleading for bail, the barrister asked the judge to note that Ms Harrison maintains her innocence and “says she had obviously nothing to do with it, that there were other people there, and it was not her involved in this incident”.

Gardaí are to recommend to the Director of Public Prosecutions that the case should be dealt with on indictment at a higher level with greater sentencing powers.

Mr McCrave asked the judge to note that there had been hearsay evidence, and he submitted that refusing bail could see the accused kept in custody for a lengthy period.

Due to current delays, he said, her trial may not be heard until 2025 or 2026.

However, Judge Campbell refused bail and remanded her in custody. Ms Harrison, who is unemployed was granted legal aid. She did not address the court.

Harrison will face her next hearing on Wednesday.