The Garda system of keeping criminal records, details of car registrations and firearms ownership is expected to be disrupted from next week by a productivity dispute involving 10,000 gardai.
The two main Garda associations yesterday issued directives to their members not to operate a new £55 million computerised records system known as PULSE (an acronym for Police Using Leading Systems Effectively).
The existing Garda computer system will be shut down permanently from midnight on Monday. It is not Year 2000 compliant.
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, issued a directive at the start of this week to all his commanders that they should direct their officers to begin working the new PULSE system, which has already been installed in major stations.
Senior Garda sources said yesterday no additional work was involved in operating the new system.
The Garda staff associations have rejected a 4.5 per cent pay increase for productivity measures. The Commissioner's directive specifies that any officer who refuses to work the system will face disciplinary action, including immediate suspension from work.
However, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) yesterday circulated a message to all stations informing members that they "will not comply" with the operation of the new systems. The GRA said members can fill out criminal record forms and court documents by pen, but they "will not deviate from this position."
The GRA memo, posted to every station in the State yesterday, said: "We are embarking on an industrial relations conflict, and it is up to all of us to support each other."
Gardai in Dublin said yesterday that if any of their colleagues were suspended from duty for refusing to work the new computers, they would probably embark on another "blue flu" strike.
Gardai are prohibited by prevented, under law from striking. Gardai yesterday said that if there was a blanket ban on the use of the new computer system, the policing service and criminal trials could be severely curtailed.
Gardai will have difficulty in checking vehicle records and may be unable to tell if one is stolen. They may also be unable to check if a person they have arrested has previous convictions. All the records on the old computer have been transferred to the new system, and technicians were testing them in eight stations yesterday. The system was due to be operating throughout the State from Tuesday.