THE Minister for Justice, the Garda Commissioner and a Garda representative body leader were last night embroiled in a major row over the force's resources following the Waterford cash depot robbery.
Following unprecedented criticism of a Government Minister by a Garda group, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Patrick Culligan, apologised for what a member of his force had said. The Garda Representative Association (GRA) remained defiant, its leadership saying that it would stand "four square" behind its spokesman, Mr P.J. Stone, if any attempt was made to discipline him.
The general secretary of the Garda Representative Association, Mr John Ferry, said he supported the remarks about the Minister for Justice, Ms Owen, made by Mr Stone, its Deputy general secretary, on RTE radio yesterday. "I stand over every comment made by him," he said. "If any attempt is made to discipline him, I stand four square behind him, and so will the force."
The row erupted when Mr Stone said cutbacks in Garda overtime had facilitated the £100,000 cash robbery in Waterford on Saturday. He said that only a single armed garda had been available in the city at the time of the robbery.
"A political can will have to be carried for this," said Mr Stone. "The only people to carry that can are the present Government. They must be seriously questioned about their competence in this whole area. The Minister now has to prove herself in this regard. So far, she has failed miserably. I believe the people will judge her at the next election in that regard. Her competence and her ability must be seriously questioned now."
His remarks brought an immediate response from Ms Owen, who said that she had discussed the Waterford robbery with the Commissioner. She had been "assured personally by Commissioner Culligan . . . that there was no question that lack of resources or overtime restrictions had anything to do with the robbery that took place in the Securicor premises at Waterford."
The Commissioner also responded, saying that he wanted to "put on record his serious concern" about the views expressed by Mr Stone. "The points made by him were invalid and not in accordance with the facts," he said. "The kernel of the situation, which seems to have gone unnoticed, is that the money stolen from the Securicor depot ... was under the exclusive control of the security firm and was not subject, to specific Garda protection.
"It is acknowledged that the Garda Siochana has a responsibility for the prevention, detection and investigation of ally crimes, including this one. However, to suggest that in this case the Garda Siochana was in some way negligent is unfounded.
"The Commissioner offers to the Minister for Justice and the Government, on behalf of himself, and the Garda Siochana, his apologies for the unwarranted criticism of their respective roles," he said in a statement.
Mr Stone could face disciplinary action as a result of his remarks. Although he is a full time GRA officer he remains a garda and is subject to the force's regulations. His position with the GRA which represents about 6,500 rank and file gardai allows him some freedom to comment publicly on matters which concern GRA members. However, the political points and personal criticism of the Minister in his interview may be considered outside his remit.
Any disciplinary action by the Commissioner would need the Minister's approval.
Supporting Mr Stone, Mr Ferry said that the Government had taken no action over the increase in crime. "My genuine fear is that nothing will be done until members of the guards or civilians are killed, and then it will certainly be too late."
Although ostensibly about Garda resources, Mr Stone's remarks come against a background of ill feeling between the GRA and the Minister over the GRA's representative status and the status of another Garda group, the Garda Federation. Ever since the GRA split and the rival Garda Federation was formed both bodies have been vying for support among rank and file gardai. The federation now has about 2,000 members, representing mainly Dublin gardai. Despite a series of talks, the two groups have been unable to resolve their differences.
The Minister's promise to resolve the dispute by legislation has led to fears within the GRA leadership that a new Garda body will be formed and that the GRA will be "legislated out of existence".