Senior gardaí to march on Leinster House over pay restoration

Senior gardaí will march on Leinster House on Tuesday in the first of a series of actions to secure restoration of their pay to 2008 levels.

Members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) are protesting against what they say is the lack of meaningful engagement in relation to Garda pay.

The AGSI members will not march in uniform but will wear blue and they will be joined by other members of An Garda Síochána who are on leave, as well as members of the Garda Síochána Retired Members Association.

AGSI president Antoinette Cunningham said on Monday she had "nowhere else to go in relation to pay negotiations" for her 2,500 members and that it was "regrettable" that they had to take this step.

Tuesday’s protest comes as an unpublished survey reveals a long list of complaints from gardaí around the State about a lack of resources and other issues.

The survey, undertaken by the Garda Síochána Analysis Service in 2014, revealed that gardaí complained about basic equipment, about a lack of IT support and even a lack of access to the Garda’s Pulse computer system.

Some also complained that their uniforms were not practical or fit for purpose.

Other complaints included that underperformance was not being dealt with by management and that “many members lack the basic skills to perform their duties”. A lack of discipline was “a key concern” for higher ranks.

Rosters were described as “not family friendly” and as making the job of officers more difficult.

Gardaí also said there were not enough patrol cars and that the existing fleet was unfit for purpose.

Independent watchdog

Some 15,000 members were invited to take part but the response rate to the survey was just over 11 per cent.

The report said Garda leaders needed to acknowledge the problems in the force and to “have the will to change them”.

Gardaí who responded to the survey also criticised the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, the independent watchdog, with some claiming they were considered guilty before any investigation began.

The survey was conducted in 2014 at the request of Nóirín O’Sullivan following her appointment as Garda Commissioner and was obtained by The Times of London under Freedom of Information legislation.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) welcomed the report.

GRA president Ciarán O’Neill said it concurred with what the organisation had been saying for some time, that An Garda Síochána was “lacking in terms of resources, funding and leadership” and that this was having a direct effect on members’ morale.

“The survey results, which show a lack of resources, funding and leadership within An Garda Síochána, reveals nothing new to our members,” said Mr O’Neill.

“Our members have been working in difficult circumstances for a number of years now and things will not improve until the Government and Garda management admit that there is a problem and implement changes from the top down.”

The association represents more than 10,500 rank-and-file members of the force.