'Enough is enough' - 'Take your foot off our throats' warn Gardaí
Gardaí have threatened to withdraw co-operation from the policing operation for Ireland's EU presidency unless there are discussions about their grievances.
Members at the annual Garda Representative Association (GRA) delegate conference passed a motion which stated that they would withdraw from planning meetings for the upcoming presidency.
Donegal garda and former GRA president Brendan O'Connor warned management: 'Take your foot off our throats. Enough is enough. We're not being unreasonable. We're not demanding anything. We're asking for the attacks on us to stop.' Donegal garda and former GRA president Brendan O'Connor. Pic: Conor í' Mearáin
The motion that was passed calls for discussion on 'subsistence and travel rates, ongoing attempts to reduce injury on duty entitlements, and an agreed suspension policy reflecting input and consultation with the association'.
The GRA claims that gardaí are having injury-on-duty payments reduced and says travel and subsidence rates for duty away from home are insufficient.
It also insisted that the suspension policy is leaving officers 'languishing' for years. However, Garda Headquarters hit back yesterday, saying there are 96 members suspended out of a total force of 14,200.
A spokesman said: 'Of these, 10 are suspended for assault/ assault causing harm, 12 for domestic violence and coercive control, eight for sexual assault and sexual misconduct, 17 for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Gardaí. Pic: Alan Rowlette/RollingNews.ie
'Is the GRA saying these gardaí shouldn't be suspended for such alleged serious offences?' Ireland will have the EU presidency from July 1, 2026. The GRA says the move is not a withdrawal of labour, but it will not be cooperating with the planning for events until the problems are tackled.
Garda O'Connor said: 'There's a general frustration among our members, and a feeling that their terms and conditions are under constant erosion.
'And what is on the horizon is, again, another major event where our members will be asked to mobilise in large numbers, leave their families, travel long distances. What they're saying is we need a bit of clarity around our terms and conditions that facilitate the policing of those events.
'They're saying don't take our flexibility for granted, because our flexibility and our commitment has not been reciprocated.'
The GRA also took aim at the operating policing model, which was introduced in 2019. The new operating model includes restructuring at national, regional, and divisional levels to enable improved delivery of community policing according to local needs.
Dublin Metropolitan Region West rep, Detective Mark Ferris, said: 'The current Garda Operating Model just isn't working as intended…. We're still swamped in paperwork and legal processes.'
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