Conference Report 2016

CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
3. New recruits are denied rent allowance and this has
created a two-tier pay structure.
4. There are fewer gardaí to complete more tasks: our
numbers have been reduced by one in six and our
responsibilities increased. We have become the first
call and final refuge for our citizens with nowhere
else to turn.
5. We have been required to revolutionise our roster
and increase productivity without compensation.
6. Our members are subjected to increasingly violent
assault with reduced protection (many are patrolling
alone or without backup).
7. Our conditions of service have been denigrated,
particularly the reform of our sickness regulations,
are seen to be unfair and discriminatory to a
profession where sickness, injury and psychological
challenges are occupational hazards.
8. Our members are under increased scrutiny from
management, the judiciary, GSOC and the media –
without the visible support of Garda Management.
9. The equipment and resources required to do our job
are nakedly absent.
10. Our members ensured security and safety for the
public throughout the global economic crisis.
11. Previous agreements and promises made to our
members have not been honoured. Under the terms
of the Haddington Road Agreement this Review was
to be completed by 1st June 2014 but has been
repeatedly stymied by the Department of Justice
and Equality.
formalise a structure of industrial relations to avoid the
current paralysis recurring.
The Benchmarking Body failed to address the unique and
evolving status of Garda rank, and gardaí have been
historically excluded from pay negotiations of the broader
public service pay review system. There is also no clarity
in the current status of the rights of gardaí for industrial
relations following the decision of the Council of Europe.
The European Code of Police Ethics (2001), subsequently
adopted by the Council of Europe, also states that police
staff shall enjoy the same civil and political rights as
other citizens and also the social and economic rights of
other public servants and:
“staff shall have the right to organise or to participate in
representative organisations, to receive an appropriate
remuneration and social security, and to be provided with
special health and security measures, taking into
account the particular character of police work.”
There is a solution that we propose herein: that for a
separation of the gardaí from these structures through the
establishment of an independent pay review body
specifically for the gardaí. This is explored in detail and
would appropriately reflect the unique and separate status
for those workers who are tasked with State security,
personal protection and community commitment.
PJ Stone
General Secretary
1st December 2015
12. We have no platform for discussion or negotiation
with the Department of Public Expenditure and
Reform (DPER) that has taken control of
remuneration and terms of our service.
We are cognisant of the political upheaval in the current
Dáil; a justice sector that has seen the resignation of
Minister for Justice and Equality, the removal of a Garda
Commissioner, the transfer of a Secretary General and
the resignation of a GSOC Commissioner. All of these
personnel changes have been replicated within the civil
service and we have seen significant breaks in
continuity, fractured consistency and a reluctance to
address any of the interlocking crises. As we await the
formal handover to an independent garda authority, we
need to establish the role and responsibility of the
members of Garda rank in the 21st Century, and to
12 Garda Representative Association