The decision by the Garda Representative Association (GRA) not to invite the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, to its annual conference is not just an unprecedented move. It also shows poor judgement by the GRA, which is seeking to win public support for, and to secure a better political understanding of, its various concerns and demands. Calls by the GRA for the establishment of an independent police authority and for a new form of pay negotiations have been accompanied by claims that cutbacks in Garda pay, numbers and allowances have made it a less effective police force. However, for the GRA to break with a long established tradition and to refuse the Minister a hearing at its conference - and so deny him an opportunity to reply to the concerns of GRA members - is a studied insult. This petulant display will hardly advance the GRA's case. And certainly it will do nothing to improve the association's strained relationship with the Department of Justice.
At a time of financial crisis, where public spending must be cut and taxes raised to bring the national finances back into balance, none in the private or public sectors have - or could - be exempted from that adjustment process. The McCarthy report in 2009 reviewed public spending, and recommended where savings could be made. There it outlined a wide range and number of Garda allowances, and found that “ the majority of these allowances are pay-related and pensionable” and that many had “limited rational justification”. A subsequent review last year by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reforms of public service allowances also recommended changes in Garda allowances. One difficulty has been that many such allowances have over time come to be regarded as core pay; and therefore a cut in allowances may in some instances may be seen as a pay cut. In the past, governments - anxious to avoid overt breaches of public sector pay norms - often gave pay increases under the guise of an additional allowance.
Undoubtedly, members of An Garda Siochana have been hit hard by the budgetary adjustments made, with numbers cut, overtime hours reduced, and allowances threatened. Nevertheless, given the state of the public finances, the challenge for Garda members, as Commissioner Martin Callinan has said, is to do more with less, and to improve their efficiency and effectiveness as a police force. Others, and not least those in the private sector whose jobs may be in jeopardy, have often had to make tougher adjustments in this economic downturn. An Garda Siochana are the last line of defence in protecting the State, in upholding the law and in guaranteeing the freedom and rights of its citizens. The GRA, in pursuit of its industrial relations objectives, is fully aware of its own rights. It should not forget its responsibilities.