A retired Donegal garda sergeant has been permitted by the High Court to challenge his former employers in a bid to restore his Gaeltacht allowance as he claims losses to his pension entitlements.
Paul Wallace, of Burtonport, Co Donegal, is taking the action against the Garda Commissioner over what he claims is their failure or refusal to determine his January 2023 application to have the allowance restored.
Mr Wallace is asking the court to declare that the alleged continued failure to restore or even decide the matter is “unlawful” in that it breaches the respondent’s obligation to determine financial issues.
He claims this is preventing him from pursuing any internal appeal, which he argues is in breach of fair procedures.
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Mr Wallace says in his court papers that he was sworn in as a member of the Garda in 1985, posted to Monaghan Garda station and was promoted to sergeant in November 1993 when he was moved to Glencolmcille Garda station in Donegal.
He said he was transferred to Letterkenny in June 1997 and then to Bunbeg in November 2000. Glencolmcille and Bunbeg are in Gaeltacht areas in Co Donegal.
Mr Wallace accepted the position of divisional crime prevention officer in November 2002 and was transferred to Letterkenny.
There his role included giving interviews in Irish to print and broadcast media, with TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta having studios in Donegal, as part of a service to the entire county, including Gaeltacht islands inhabited by Irish speakers.
At the time of his training, his competency in Irish was judged to be at 63 per cent, rising to 82 per cent in 2003.
Mr Wallace was in receipt of the allowance for four years from 2003 and in 2007 and applied for its restoration in 2007 but was refused on the basis that Letterkenny was not designated as a Gaeltacht area at the time.
In August 2020 Letterkenny was designated as a “Gaeltacht service town” but Mr Wallace claims he had served the Gaeltacht community since 2002.
He reapplied for the allowance in January 2023 but retired in March 2024 without, he claims, any update from Garda headquarters over his application.
Mr Wallace took his Garda pension, which did not include his allowance, resulting in, he claims, the loss of €8,708.17 from his one-off gratuity payment upon retirement and €249.38 a month from his regular pension.
He claims the Garda is under a duty to exercise statutory powers in a “prompt and reasonable manner” in terms of the rights of people to fair procedures.
“On any analysis, the respondent [the Garda Commissioner] has not acted promptly or reasonably in failing or refusing to take the decision in issue,” he argues.
At the High Court on Monday, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted the application for leave brought by Paul McGarry SC, for Mr Wallace, and adjourned the matter to October.
