But we have plenty of money to pay billions to unsecured bond holders….???

Sinn Fein love the guard, sure…

Let the Sinnféinish House Mafia provide security at Swedish House Mafia gigs. Simples!

I wouldn’t like to see Sinn Feins security, lads in ballaclavas armed to the teeth, snipers overlooking the mosh pit….

Shinners talking about crime . Are they not the same party who currently have a convicted gunrunner standing as a TD who even to this day refuses to condemn the killing of gerry McCabe . The same man then collects the killers from jail on their release . Shinners talking about the fight against crime . How ironic .

Ferris didnt beat the shit out of prostitutes around the dock road Gerry.He did his time and more wouldnt leave you near a justice system anyway ..Ferris wont be accused of treason not like other up standing pillars of society should be in this country..

There are many the Guard who echo the same sentiment in private. They have to work with that carry on.

It’s not the actions of only a few, that’s the problem. My only agenda is to see Ireland policed in a fair, open and responsible way which respects the citizen. On another topic, will you ever learn to use the reply feature? Click reply before the comment you wish to reply to.

James could not be closer to the truth.

Well said Clarence. Many comments here reek of personal gripes

You seem quite ignorant.

James u seem quite bitter!

About replying to comments or the topic in general? The piece of advice about commenting on the Journal was intended as a piece of friendly advice; that the OP continues to ignore it is more telling about his bitterness than mine. In relation to the overall topic, I wouldn’t say I’m bitter, but it’s a situation that does anger me and it is something which we need to deal with as a society.

Perhaps Jimbo didnt get the knod for Templemore and hence the anger and bitterness. Not to worry James sleep well tonight while the boys in blue go out and get lumps knocked out of them for peanuts. On a more serious not though you can hire a million Guards and it wont stop crime unless you sort out the prisons and legal system. Currently its a revolving door and millions are wasted every year prosecuting toerags only to have them walk out of the Joy two days later because theres no room at the Inn.

I don’t see how…? But you still clearly haven’t been able to grasp the purpose of the Reply button. There is a real reason to do it properly, you know? You’re posts are just littered randomly around the thread now, replying to people that will more than likely never see your posts because they won’t receive reply notifications.

*Your

It’s not a “personal” gripe; it’s serious concern about Garda conduct in various publicised cases, in situations I’ve personally witnessed, videos on YouTube (attacking people in their cars, threatening “rape” etc. etc.). On the most visable level, they drive around with no regard for other road users, which is evident from the high number of collisions (some resulting in death) involving Garda vehicles. Throwing more people at a serious problem won’t fix it.

Clarence. There is a very unaccountable element in the force, and they are large enough to be a problem. The story Paidí o’Sé, told about when he was a Guard, and how senior officers used to go in to the pub after hours, get a private lock in. Oder but not pay, playing ball, they call it.

They aren’t as bad as they used to be, but to pretend that the Guards are up to scratch is just denying facts.

Just like the law, courts eh.

Good man Greg, how long did it take you to come up with that line? Because Jonathan O’Brien is from Sinn Féin he daren’t make any comment re Gardaí for fear that some Fianna Failer mightn’t like it. Don’t worry – I don’t think Ireland is going to forget Fianna Fail’s input into making this country bankrupt.

Weekend cops are not the solution. A professional and full time force is.

Hmm Réada, I think I would rather hedge my bets with the party that brought thousands of extra Gardai onto the streets over the last decade alongside heavily investing in operational resources rather than relying on the party that actively supported an organisation which failed to recognise the existence of Garda Síochána na hÉireann up until recent years and instead tried to bomb and terrorise members of the force at every opportunity.

Eh hello have you seen those shoes .?walk a mile in them .would not be seen out side the door in them .

Agreed.

Ah, the dislike brigade are out in force… Always surprises me how many are happy to keep their heads in the sand! http://www.joe.ie/news-politics/current-affairs/video-gardai-shown-violently-breaking-into-car-in-unprovoked-attack-0021336-1

Very good point James. The Garda Ombudsman report on the recent Rape Tapes was a disgrace. How there was not more of an outcry was unbelievable. My father, a Garda Superintendent, would have been horrified at the Garda’s behaviour in that case.

Agreed
While it might be disingenuous to attribute the blame for Garda inefficiency on the rank and file there is vast scope for improvement of the service by the proper management of existing resources. There is also an impression, growing daily, that the Gardai are there in the first instance to serve the State and secondly to serve the public.

We certainly need a culture of professionalism in the Guards, no doubt about that but we also need to have more of them.

There are a lot of fine guards all the same, every town in Ireland has the cops that are on the take or abuse their power but 80% are not.

What is ultimately needed is that the people that oversaw the reform of the RUC in to a modern, accountable, professional,the PSNI should be called in to do the same for the Guards. Many of the leading guards earned stripes in the 70′s, a time when the force was out of control. You only have to look at Donegal, to see their names cropping once more.

I worked for a good few years in a relatively senior position in the fire service. While I personally observed behaviour by Gardai that would on the one hand inspire and uplift you, I have also witnessed behaviour that would leave many doubts and suspicions. We could discuss till the cows come home the ratio of bad to good behaviour but one thing that struck me was the air of self importance and defiance that characterised the bad work.

There seems to be a reluctance to deal with bad behaviour by Garda management and, in a lot of cases, when disciplinary action is taken it’s done surreptitiously and behind closed doors.

That’s why I agree with James. A proper independent Garda Ombudsman is needed so that the the work of all Gardai is considered to be above suspicion and the public are assured that a proper open and accountable form of discipline is followed.

@James Pelow,

I have watched the video and listened to it a number of times and I still cannot understand why the driver did not open the door, if, the window would not open. I personally would have and many others would also. I am not saying the driver was being awkward and trying to rise the guards but it would have been more simple to open the door rather than have the window smashed.

On another note, I do agree that some gardai, young and older are rude, arrogant and just dangerous on the road. I have heard them slagging off drivers when they don’t move out of the way quick enough in heavy traffic. Everybody has to wait until the cars/trucks in front of them move. The gardai seem to think that drivers are not letting them through on purpose. That is not the case. I have, in the past, driven to my local garda station to complain, face to face, to a garda for the way he spoke to me on the telephone when I was making an inquiry about a question on a passport form. Eventually he apologized. He won’t forget me in a hurry!

Your ignorance is staggering. Your knee jerk reaction is juvenille.
Quite simply…take a walk in a Garda’s shoes for one day and see some reality.

“walk a mile in a Garda’s shoes” seems to be a standard response which ignores the crux of the matter… I’m well aware it’s a tough job, and not particularly a job I would want or even be able to do. I have seen Gardaí go above and beyond the call of duty on several occasions and I have nothing but admiration and respect from them. Unfortunatly, I’ve also seen the opposite; Gardaí falling seriously short of their duty as well as Gardaí in blatant dereliction of their duty. Regardless, I don’t see how it being a tough, thankless job justifies what I have seen myself/what’s been in the media/what’s been shown in various YouTube videos. It’s very clear to me that an Garda Síochána needs to be drastically reformed towards restoring the trust the people used to have in the force, especially in my generation and younger, and any recruitment should take place as part of a larger reform programme. Walking a mile in a Garda’s shoes won’t fix anything.

That video is comical. How did the driver intend to get out of the car at the end of his journey? Maybe he should have used the same method to open to door to the gardai rather than pretending that the window was broken. Just happened to have a camera rolling on the approach to a garda checkpoint…

Hear, hear!

You haven’t a clue! Walk a mile in a guards shoes and then talk about their commitment.

@Paul

You really think it’s not a sought after job? Wait until the embargo is lifted and see how many applications there are, I can guarantee you it will be in the tens of thousands.

@Paul

You think it’s not a sought after job? Wait until the embargo is lifted, I guarantee the applications will be in the tens of thousands.

A concerned citizen. In other words a person who believes they know better than any one else.

We have a police that may not be the best but they are far from the worst. We have very few if any “cops on the rake” as it was started earlier. I have heard persons who from eastern block countries commenting on this fact.

It is very easy for us to pass comments on the Garda force when we aren’t Garda. In every walk of life there are people who shouldn’t be doing the job they do. But as I said the Garda like any modern police force walk a line. On one side is the majority of society who want a police force to be a police force and deal with stuff with common sense and tact which is done day in and day out. On the other hand is the minority of people who want a PC police who only enforce laws they want enforced. You always hear them saying oh the Garda was on a power trip when they pulled me in cause I broke the light. Maybe the Garda just gave ya a dressing down instead of giving you the ticket.

What a ridiculous comment.