Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST MONTH SAW an unprecedented move by the organisation representing rank-and-file gardaí with the announcement of four strike days in an escalating dispute over pay restoration.
To further mount pressure on the government, sergeants and inspectors followed suit, deciding yesterday to join their colleagues and withdraw their labour on 4, 11, 18 and 25 November.
When asked about the organisation’s contingency plan for the strike days, a garda spokesperson said there are “mechanisms in place for resolving these matters” and that the Commissioner would encourage all bodies to remain engaged.
The best outcome for all involved, including the public is that these issues are resolved within these mechanisms.
Though garda management and members of the government continue to talk about sitting around a table to hash out the issues, representatives of those planning to withdraw their labour remain resolute.
President of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), Antoinette Cunningham, today told TheJournal.ie she believes it is “highly likely” the first strike action on 4 November will go ahead as planned.
I don’t see any resolutions coming forward from government. I see a lot more talk and rhetoric and very little progress. There is no choice, you know, the government have failed in every agreement they’ve made with us.
‘It won’t be feasible’
If Cunningham is right, the force on 4 November will go from having a pool of around 13,000 staff to relying on a couple of hundred senior officers and 600 of the force’s newest recruits for general policing.
“We won’t be able to function without sergeants or inspectors,” one probationer garda told TheJournal.ie.
“It won’t be feasible to have superintendents dictating every action of the probationers.”
Sources have also pointed out that the situation now is very different from that of the ‘blue flu’ of 1998 when there was a large number of probationers, so more areas could be covered.
It has not a hope of working, the numbers don’t add up.
Management is hoping the 789 garda reserves will step up to provide cover on the strike days, but these volunteer members may refuse to ‘pass the picket’, in solidarity with their colleagues.
“It’s a difficult and stressful job and members survive because of close working relationships. Because of the fact that on duty we all depend on each other to go the extra mile, it’s felt that a lot of reserves won’t be available on duty,” one garda said.
A lot of them are only in the reserves as a stepping stone to a fulltime career and they would see the current action as something that would most benefit them in the longterm.
It is expected many of the country’s garda stations will be forced to close to the public on strike days.
Disruption
The courts, too, may face “serious disruption”, senior counsel Seán Gillane told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today.
“Even at a time of no industrial action, we rely heavily on the cooperation and flexibility of members of An Garda Síochána.”
Gardaí will be compelled by witness orders to appear in court to give evidence and are unlikely to ignore these as they could face severe sanctions. However, at district court level, the industrial action could cause significant disruption.
Gillane explained that at district level, the first appearance of an accused is largely governed by evidence of arrest, charge and caution, which is always presented by a sergeant.
The absence of sergeants could mean that cases that are due to be initiated have to be “struck out”.
Skeletal service
Yesterday, the Garda Representative Association asked members of the Emergency Response Unit and Regional Support Units to report for normal rostered duty on strike days, to ensure a “skeletal service to protect the security of the state”.
The association’s general secretary Pat Ennis has written to the Garda Commissioner requesting specific details of the contingency plan for the days of industrial action.
But disenfranchised members of the force say government has left them with no other option and it is now up to the minister and the Commissioner to figure out how to police the country.
“It’s an issue for management if there is no agreement in the meantime,” one source said. “There is still time for it to be averted if an agreement is reached.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The article above this says an 18 year old for got a suspended sentence for stabbing someone. What’s the point in even having a police force if voilent criminals aren’t looked up.
Police don’t lock criminals up; judges do.
I got red thumbed into dust for suggesting that you could actually kick someone half to death and get a suspended sentence… I wasn’t far wrong. At that age not to be punished for stabbing someone all he’ll learn is that there’s no consequences to that sort of violence meaning it’s only a matter of time before he escalates the level of violence. Insane judgement.
@ DJ, I agree with you but the guy in the article didn’t stab the victim, he was stabbed before that guy turned up. Still tho, a joke of a sentence as per usual !
I agree DJ we should look them up immediately
@Joe Bloggs: there all the one one for all all for one gardai and judges it obvious
Police academy: back in training is all I can think off
@Patrick Norton: Having to get off their fat arses and work for a change is going to frighten the crap out of senior officers
Don’t worry we’ll be grand.
As long as there is a cheeky rookie Garda who can make hilarious sound effect noises with his voice, I think we will all be fine
I’ve always wanted to make a citizens arrest.
@Tweety McTweeter: move along now
Doest make any difference to people where I live, they guards havent been there since the local station was closed. I’ll be cleaning out the gun anyway and having it ready for my week on nightly patrol.
Good luck to the garda.
I take it thecriminal fraternity will also strike in sympathy!!!
@Micheal S. O’ Ceilleachair: No….. the Financial Services management will be working as usual.
The blame for this should be placed firmly at the feet of this government.
The Gardai are already on strike.
Just 30mins ago at the height of evening rush hour, directly across the road from Mountjoy Garda station and Prison there was two idiots facing off against each other one had his shirt off and his missus was pleading with him to walk away.
What happens next?
Three Gardai in an unmarked ford focus come out of MountJoy station and are staring straight at them.
The woman see’s them and is bricking it, but you know what happens.. the Gardai decide they couldn’t be arsed dealing with it and they drive away!!
Next thing the two lads are running at each other and dancing across the road in fighting posture while cars and cyclists try to dodge them!!
WHAT THE F*CK KIND OF POLICE FORCE IS THAT!!
Those Gardai should all be suspended!
This happened not 30minutes ago!
I have it on a dash camera, but the camera isn’t great in low light so you can’t make out the ‘fighters’ angel wings tattoos.
That is 100% tolerance Policing if ever I saw it!
Sounds about right. Not their fault. Armed gardai aren’t able to get involved in public order incidents. It’s to do with the guns been taken off them during fight and a public order incident not deemed serious enough to draw Arms.
@Tom: You are uneducated. The detectives are armed but cannot shoot someone for public order. Its also unwise for them to engage in public order as someone else already mentioned.
they could also have been enroute to a more serious call, did you ever consider that? and thus they werent simple watching but advising the marked patrol car of what was happening?
PS: Gardai tend not to simple patrol the 50 feet outside the station so how close to the station makes no odds
4th of November… The Purge Irish style.
Should be open season shoot to kill on all gangsters and drug lords
Yeah, cos the gangsters are usually put off killing each other by the Garda..
@John Reese: And what about the nasty people like bank management?
So all bank management are criminals? I don’t think so my friend.
This is for a different article that as usual we can’t comment on. Oh my f##kin god. What does it take to send a f##kin sc#mbag to jail in this country. So what if he arrived late and didn’t know there was a knife used, he assaulted another person. Now the victim has his life f##ked up but its ok, the s##mbag felt remorse and paid some money. The judges in this country should be ashamed
can’t see anything going wrong with only striking on Friday nights. Does this means the gatso vans are also out of action so the scobies can test the roads up as well? it may be time to try the “Dublin to Donegal in under 3 hours” and get home in time for the pubs… no wait, no guards – no closing time either! this could be a good thing as long as you don’t stay in Dublin.
Well time has long gone when you can rely on the Gardai. End of the day better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6. My home my family .
“We won’t be able to function without sergeants or inspectors,” one probationer garda told TheJournal.ie.
“It won’t be feasible to have superintendents dictating every action of the probationers.”
Probationer Gardaí shouldn’t need their every action dictated
Is the point there not that they’re probationers so actually still in training? I assume they require guidance and direction due to their lack of experience. Just throwing it out there.
No that’s Student Gardaí. Probationers are finished training and have their police powers
@lorem. …Indeed they have police powers but are not finished their training. They require supervision because they learn how to deal with situations by accompanying more experienced guards. Being thrown in at the deep end here and if they can’t swim it’s the person whom they’re trying to help, with the best of intention, who will suffer. This is the terrible situation that no Garda actually wants but what they are being forced into.
No that’s not true. They regularly work on their own – It’s student Gardai that have a tutor Garda to mentor them.
Probationers investigate and prosecute their own cases. They have classes once per month during their probationary period to monitor their progress
You’re behind the times. The students don’t leave the college now, and so have no need for tutors. The students do 9 months in Templemore, get attested & sent to their stations where they are assigned a tutor to monitor & guide them. A fresh out of the box probationer isn’t expected to make arrests off his or her own bat.
No the new training regime means they cannot work on their own as was documented at the time that recruitment started again. The three “A’s”, assisting, assisted and autonomous. It was regularly on the news.I’m sure you knew that from your research and we’re just testing everyone right?
It will make a change from the crims policing the streets.
And fully armed rural dwellers and farmers! Love me some night patrol, I do!
It’s legal to defend your property with your gun if you’ve a reasonable belief your life’s in danger.
It’s not legal to patrol the neighbourhood with it, this isn’t Florida
Ya don’t say Ryan! Well I never knew that…….I’m patrolling my own land and if some piece of sc#m happens to come on said land or near my house while I’m there, then he better quick step right out the gate again.
Nothing to worry about Pascal on primetime, he has a contingency plan in place during strike duration, can’t help but think government could be gone as a result of both strikes, gardai and teachers.
If this goes ahead Ireland has passed the rubicon into a police state.
Jesus, you’ll have to explain that one?
Why not call in the IRMS from Mayo sure they know the drill and were well taught and even drank with the boys in blue for years, prefect for the nixer.
Those who the bad ones do nixers for can pay them and anyway it doesn’t matter because they don’t do 24 hour response anyway, unless for a crony and sure they’ll do that anyway as they will be more free than normal and the bung will pay for the 19th.
The Doheny & Nesbitt media moguls refused to print this, well they don;’t want their little botties smacked and put to bed early!
Quote for today “Don’t try this in Brazil.”
Let the anual purge begin
Let the annual Purge begin
This is too serious a matter to be trivialised by people nit picking with other posters here. I would expect that there are some serious criminals planning a few heists on the strike days. These are crimes against society, not just against the immediate victims. This dispute needs solving before the first day of action.
have your say