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A GARDA GROUP has threatened to withdraw from key meetings with Garda management for when Ireland takes the EU presidency next year unless discussions take place on a range of issues.
The Garda Representatives Association (GRA) – which represents over 11,000 rank and file gardaí – has said it is demanding talks from bosses on potential suspensions facing members and what it says are insufficient rates on subsistence and travel they receive when working away for their regular stations for events.
The emergency motion was passed at the group’s annual conference in Killarney today.
Ireland will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU for six months starting in July next year. During the presidency, Irish ministers will be required to chair up to 170 meetings of EU ministers.
It’s understood that planning for the presidency can involve multiple meetings each week among gardaí to decide on issues ranging from rosters to logistics as part of security planning for the high-level EU meetings.
Donegal garda Brendan O’Connor told the conference that too often gardaí are told to “don the green jersey” and must leave their homes and families to spend time in “substandard accommodation” with little reward.
“That’s what we always did but that’s not good enough anymore,” O’Connor, who is a former GRA president, said.
“We’ve had enough. Take your foot off our throat,” he added. “Stop dancing on our heads.”
Asked following the meeting whether there are potential public safety implications for the move, O’Connor said that gardaí will “provide public safety” and still staff events when they take place.
Referencing discipline issues, O’Connor said that gardaí are left in limbo due to what he said were overly harsh and burdensome discipline policies concerning new policies for officers.
O’Connor said that the GRA did not have an issue with discipline for “members who need suspension”, but said that gardaí were struggling amid changes in procedure.
He claimed that gardaí find fresh policy documents “dumped” on them and would face harsh measures if they were not quickly learned – with the outcome being that that their reputation and mental health is left “destroyed”.
A spokesperson for Garda Headquarters said this morning that there are currently 96 gardaí suspended, out of 14,200 officers.
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