Gardai 'utterly confused' over smoking ban - AGSI

Gardaí are "utterly confused" as to their role in enforcing the smoking ban, the president of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), Mr Joe Dirwan, claimed today.

Speaking to delegates on the second day of the AGSI conference in Cork, Mr Dirwan, said not one directive from Garda headquarters concerning the ban had been issued to date

He said the confusion was being "compounded by advice given to some publicans to 'call the gardaí' if there was a problem about the enforcement of the new legislation".

Mr Dirwan said: "The de facto situation was that gardaí were only to be called if there was a need to prevent a breach of the peace."

He complained to the Garda Commissioner that his members should have received directives from headquarters "spelling out the role of the force in this new legislation well in advance of its coming into effect."

In his address, Mr Dirwan said the gardaí were significantly under-resourced when it came to dealing with ongoing public order problems in our cities.

He said the Republic had fewer police per 100,000 of population than the average European state - 31 fewer officers per 100,000 to be exact.

He said: "We need 1,240 officers just to bring us up to the European average".

"Lack of resources places an intolerable burden on AGSI members as the front-line supervisors responsible for delivering a service to the public."