WHITE COLLAR CRIME is stretching gardaí to the limit, the president of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, Garda Insp Aidan O’Donnell, said at the association’s annual conference in Limerick last night.

The Irish Times reports that Insp O’Donnell said the Garda Bureau of Fraud investigation is “stretched to the limit” and struggling to cope with the upsurge in white-collar crime, such as investigations  into Anglo Irish Bank.

The gardaí will vote on a motion that calls on Garda management to prioritise the investigation of white-collar crime and provide more outside support.

Also at the conference, national executive member Garda Sgt Brian O’Dea said around 120 members of An Garda Síochána had no money left over in their pay packets in January after mortgage payments and other bills.

He said this was a result of the last budget bringing in universal social charge and other payments.

The Wexford branch wants new legislation on the monitoring of sex offenders, the Irish Examiner reports.

The motion demands that convicted sex offenders register in person and to be fingerprinted, and provide a DNA sample.

The association has also called for a new independent inquiry into the awarding of bonuses to bank staff, in the wake of more than €100m in bonuses being paid out by Bank of Ireland and AIB between 2008 and 2010.

RTE is reporting that the AGSI wants an investigation by an independent regulatory authority to establish if there were any breaches of governing regulations or legislation. It is also seeking emergency legislation to prevent banks from paying further bonuses and increasing interest rates.