GRA boss admits planned

strike is not compliant with the

law
Garda are planning to withdraw their services on four days
September 30, 16

THE GENERAL SECRETARY of the Garda Representative

Association has accepted that a planned cease of services
by rank-and-file garda in November is not legal.
Speaking this morning on RTs Today with Sean
ORourke, Pat Ennis said that the legislation surrounding
garda going on strike placed us in a terrible position.
The Garda membership occupy whats described as a
unique position of weakness within the Irish public service
industrial relations system, said Ennis.
Were denied the civil rights afforded to other workers
and citizens and we are denied the civil rights to withdraw
our labour.
GRA announced yesterday that it will launch strike action
on four separate days in November, following the rejection
of pay proposals from the Department of Justice.

The proposed dates for the strike are November 4, 11, 18

and 25.
When pressed on whether he would admit that the action
was a breach of the law, Ennis said:
I would accept that it is not compliant with the current
legislation.
Factcheck: Is it illegal for garda to go on
strike?
Under Section 59 of the Garda Sochna Act (2005),
garda are not permitted to withdraw their services.
The Section states:
A person is guilty of an offence if he or she induces, or
does any act calculated to induce, any member of the
Garda Sochna to withhold his or her services or to
commit a breach of discipline.
Ennis said that the legislation needed to reviewed as it
did not grant garda their rights.
Any legislation that seeks to treat any worker or citizen
differently and less favourable than any other is flawed
and needs to be reviewed, he said.
I suppose when it was drafted, it was drafted in the
context of other facilities being available to ensure that our
rights were protected.
And the organs of the state that are supposed to ensure
that we are treated fairly as well as any other citizen has
failed in that regard.
Response to strike
Speaking in the Dil today in response to the GRA
announcement, Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald
said that she was in no doubt about the seriousness of the
situation.
That is why my Department has engaged very intensively
with the GRA and it is absolutely open, as am I, to meeting
to resolve the outstanding issues, she said.
Fitzgerald said she knew how much garda suffered as a
result of the economic meltdown.
Follow

TheJournal Politics

'I am in no doubt about the seriousness of the situation' Fitzgerald on

12:11 PM - 29 Sep 2016

3 3 Retweets1 1 like

Source: TheJournal Politics/Twitter

The financial problems of a garda married to another

garda were doubled, she said.
As in the case of other public servants, the Government is
committed to finding a way forward.
She said the Government would re-engage with garda
ahead of the proposed strike days

They say Freudian slips are where the truth may lie...
Trump and Clinton
I see Joan Burton in there as well.

Be careful Paddy this country is so far up Americas arse they might

send a swat team around.
http://giphy.com/gifs/animation-trippy-trump-l3vQYm0jWfutqopKU

Garda to stop
working extra 30
hours imposed
under HRA
Updated / Nov. 3, 2015

Garda Representative Association frustrated at slow

progress of review of Garda pay and industrial relations

This is the actual article body

Rank and file garda are to cease working the

additional 30 hours a year that were imposed
in the Haddington Road Agreement from 1

January 2016.
Last week, the Garda Representative
Association and the Association of Garda
Sergeants and Inspectors rejected the
Lansdowne Road Agreement negotiated in
May this year between the Government and
public service unions this year.
The GRA leadership today decided
members will cease performing the 30
additional Haddington Road hours.
This was an obligation which was due to
expire at the end of this year, but which
would have continued under the LRA had it
been accepted.
Sources expressed frustration that a review
of Garda pay and industrial relations which
was due to be completed by 1 January 2014
under the terms of the Haddington Road
Agreement still has not been completed.
They said the GRA wants that review
completed by the end of February 2016 at
the latest.
The GRA will also be seeking ongoing reviews
of Garda pay, and access to the dispute
resolution mechanisms of the Workplace
Relations Commission in line with other
public servants.

I earned more when I worked

in a newsagents': New garda
speak out over low pay
Some have taken out loans to pay rent.
Mar 23rd 2016,

Image: RollingNews.ie

/Photo Text content

THE GARDA REPRESENTATIVE Association wants new
garda to be paid the average industrial wage of 33,000 a
year.
New recruits to the force currently receive an annual

salary of 23,171.
It has emerged that three newly qualified gardai have
resigned from the force due to low pay.
The GRA said it is unable to comment on individual cases,
but can understand why people might choose to leave An
Garda Sochna, especially if they are having difficulties in
paying bills and supporting themselves and their families.
In a statement the association said it is very difficult to
survive on 23,000 a year.
With rents now at an all-time high all over the country, it
is extremely difficult to survive on this basic wage.
Furthermore, new recruits are not in receipt of rent
allowance worth 4017.55.
New recruits gave force magazine The Garda Review
accounts of the financial hardships they are facing.
Heres what they had to say:
Garda 1:
I am 25 years old with a partner and two kids, aged five
and two months. I had to take out an 8,000 loan to pay
the rent on my house while I was in the garda college, so
from the get go I was in debt. My partner works but is on
maternity leave at the moment so she only gets 200 a
week. Our rent is 1,200 monthly. My current wage just
covers the cost of living. Some months I rely on my
parents to give me money if something comes up as I have
nothing left after bills and rent. I have applied for family
income supplement from the social welfare as we earn so
little.
Garda 2:
Prior to joining, myself and my wife had calculated my
earnings to include the 4,000 rent allowance. We had not
been advised that this had been removed at this stage, so
added to our reduced basic salary of 23,000, would bring
my wages to 27,000 annually. This was much lower than
what I had been on in the private sector, however with
overtime and allowances, we agreed that it might not be
too hard to manage. How wrong we were. Upon entering
Templemore we were advised that the rent allowance does

not apply to new graduates. So my annual salary would be

23,000. I earned more when I worked in a newsagents
when I was 18 years old. That is a fact.
Garda 3:
Im a probationer living in the south east and stationed in
Dublin. I travel 1 hour 26 minutes every day to work. I
come away with about 340 net pay; 80 of which goes on
diesel. I have to pay a small mortgage and the usual bills
and if it wasnt for my partner earning a good wage Id be
in dire circumstances.
Dermot OBrien, GRA president, has called on the next
government to immediately engage with us on the issue
of overall garda pay, resources and also the restoration of
rent allowance for new garda.
The association represents more than 10,500 rank and file
members of An Garda Sochna.

Garda Sochna Act 2005

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie
/eli/2005/act/20/enacted/en/
pdf
Industrial Relations Act, 1990
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie
/eli/1990/act/19/enacted/en/
print.html?printonload=true

Offences Against the State

Act, 1939
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie
/eli/1939/act/13/enacted/en/h
tml
Garda win the right to strike
in case against the State
Under the ruling, garda can be members of trade unions.
May 17th 2014

THE ASSOCIATION OF Garda Sergeants and Inspectors

(AGSI) has won a European case, which will see the rules
in relation to trade union rights for members of An Garda
Sochna being changed.
In June 2012, the AGSI lodged a complaint through the

European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP) against

Irelands implementation of the European Social Charter.
The complaint alleged that it, and other police
associations, did not enjoy full trade union rights in
Ireland and that Articles 5, the right to organise, Article 6,
the right to bargain collectively and Article 21, the right to
information and consultation of the European Social
Charter were violated as a result.
A 42-page decision from the adjudicating body, the
European Committee of Social Rights, which is binding,
sets out the framework for such a decision, and one that
applies to all members of An Garda Sochna.
AGSI General Secretary, John Redmond who pursued the
complaint on behalf of AGSI described the decision as, a
defining moment in our history and a significant decision
for our future.
He said that while the AGSI hoped not to use its right to
strike, they were urging the state to set up mechanisms to
allow them access the Labour Relations Commission.
The Association hopes that it will never have to resort to
using its newly acquired right to strike in pursuit of the
rights and entitlements of the Sergeants and Inspectors we
represent and we now urge the Government to work
quickly to agree mechanisms which will give AGSI access
to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour
Court.

Industrial action across other

sectors stirring discontent
among garda
Rural members have spoken to TheJournal.ie about the frustration
among their members.
Mar 27th 2016,

OVER THE PAST month workers from across a range of

public and private sectors have proposed industrial
action.
In the course of the past month there has been public
discontent from teachers, train drivers and most
prominently Luas drivers.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, representatives from the
countrys rural garda divisions have explained how seeing
the action being taken has amped up feeling among the
grassroots.
We want our pay back
Divisional representative to the GRA for the Sligo-Leitrim
division Garda Ray Wims told TheJournal.ie: At the GRA
conference in Carlow last year we were mandated by our
members to restore pay. And since that the members in
my division have said right, we want our pay back.
While changes to uniform, the provision of specialised
garda patrol cars and problems with how the PULSE
system are operated are also issues all come secondary
to pay restoration.
Members I represent, theyre happy to see ordinary
workers getting a decent pay package for what they do so

we have no issue with what bus, rail and Luas drivers get,
Wims explained.
Were just interested in ourselves and restoring the pay.
Its not a pay rise were looking for. Its a restoration of
pay.
GRA representative from Donegal Brendan OConnor
reported similar feelings among the rank-and-file. Asked if
there is a frustration among members in his division, he
said:
It wouldnt frustrate people. Im a trade unionist and I
would applaud any group of workers taking collective
action.
It would focus our members minds on how badly their pay
and conditions have been impacted by the crisis.
Weve lost so many
The issue of low pay is compounded in rural areas by the
stripping back of overall garda numbers.
Our division has lost so many, James Morrisroe, GRA
representative from Monaghan explains.
Weve seen a 22% reduction in numbers since 2008, that
is a lot on the ground.
He noted that since recruitment began again in September
2014, his division has only seen an additional 10 members
added to it meaning theyve experienced an overall loss
when retirements are taken into account.
OConnor said that his divisional area of Donegal had seen
the addition of only around 10 additional garda in the
past 18 months.
Its going to be hard for us to contain our
members
In October last year rank-and-file garda voted to reject
the Lansdowne Road pay deal, with frustration that it
didnt address 30 additional hours that garda were
required to work a year that were laid out in the previous
Haddington Road agreement.
In his address to Garda Commissioner Nirn OSullivan at
the GRA conference last year in Carlow, the organisations
President Dermot OBrien hit on areas of reduced pay for

garda, saying:
Dont dress up reducing our conditions and increasing our
productivity as necessary reforms. You are asking for far
more and paying considerably less.
In the past week OBrien called for the next government to
immediately engage on the issue of pay restoration.
Pressure is building for changes to be made.
Last week the GRAs central executive council
representative from Cork Michael Corcoran told
TheJournal.ie that members in his division had openly
discussed the possibility of strike action.
Asked about this, Wims was quick to point out that other
means of advancing the discussion had not yet been
properly reviewed and talking about industrial action
was premature.

Source: TheJournal.ie

What we have to do is we have to explore the first step

first. We havent explored these yet. We need to enter into
talks for restoration of pay, he said.
I dont think there is any point at the start saying,, alright,
here were going to go out on strike, the first thing Kieran
Mulvey (the chief executive of Labour Relations

Commission) might say would be, alright, what did you

do? What did you look for?
However, Wims did also emphasise that action would
need to take place quickly.
While striking is illegal, it is going to hard for us to
contain the members, he went on.
Turning to anger
If I had to gauge the mood, I would say that frustration is
turning to anger, OConnor said.
Garda were ostensibly offered a pay increase under
Lansdowne Road agreement but many felt these didnt
account for the hit that garda had taken during the
downturn.
The pay deal that was put on the table contained some of
the most draconian measures you could think of,
OConnor went on.
A large portion of that pay deal was the reversal of an
unfair income levy. Our members felt that they were
entitled to that income back anyway.
OConnor pointed to an industrial harmony clause
contained in the Lansdowne Road agreement as one
problem area something that would have created
binding conditions within which dispute would be
handled.
The agreement had also not addressed the 30 extra
working hours, something that rank-and-file garda
committed to discontinuing in January of this year.

Factcheck: Is it illegal for

garda to go on strike?
The word strike has been bandied about recently as garda demand
pay restoration could they actually do it?
Aug 7th 2016,

DISCONTENT AMONG MIDDLE and lower ranking

garda has seen them taking to the streets to protest in
recent months.
Representative associations say their members bore the
burden of harsh cuts to their pay in the years after the
recession and now it is time to pay them back.
Both the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors
(AGSI) and the Garda Representative Association (GRA)
have said they would not rule out industrial action
including a strike to achieve their goal.

However, commentary around a potential garda strike has

always referenced the illegality of this kind of action.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie in March this year, the GRAs
Sligo/Leitrim representative Ray Wims said:
While striking is illegal, it is going to be hard for us to
contain the members.

:
:
:

Similarly, in a statement to the Sunday Independent in

April, AGSI General Secretary John Jacob said:
Although striking is illegal, there is a mood within the
garda organisation to take this action and suffer the
consequences. I do not know where things will end up.
Media reports surrounding threats of strike by members of
An Garda Sochna also frequently point out that this
action would be illegal.
(Remember, if you hear an argument about facts over the
airwaves, emailfactcheck@thejournal.ie or
tweet @TJ_FactCheck).
Claim: It is illegal for garda to go on strike.
Verdict: Mostly true
It is illegal for anyone to encourage a garda to
withdraw their labour, so it would be illegal for the
GRA, AGSI or any other association or union to organise
a strike.
Under industrial relations legislation, garda are
excluded from protections for striking workers.
The law is unclear as to whether or not it would be
illegal for individual members of An Garda Sochna to
go on strike as there are no specific prohibitions.
BUT they are likely to open themselves up to
prosecution or civil liability if they do, because they do not
have the same protections as other workers.

The Facts

We asked both the Department of Justice and the Garda

Press Office to point to legislation that specifically outlaws
a strike by members of An Garda Sochna.
The Department of Justice said that while there is no
single specific prohibition on striking by members of
the Garda Sochna, a combination of provisions in law,
including the Industrial Relations Act 1990, as well as
Garda discipline regulations, effectively precludes
strikes.
In a similar response, the Garda Press Office said: A
combination of provisions in law, including the Industrial
Relations Act 1990, as well as Garda discipline regulations,

:
:
:

The Garda Sochna Act 2005 effectively precludes

industrial action by members of An Garda Sochna.
Between them, they cited three pieces of legislation which
they claim cover the prohibition on garda strikes:
The Offences Against the State Act 1939
The Garda Sochna Act 2005
The Industrial Relations Act 1990
They both also referenced Garda Sochna (Discipline)
Regulations 2007.
So, lets look at the legislation.
It is an offence under Section 9 of the Offences Against the
State Act 1939 for any person to encourage a person
employed by the State to refuse, neglect or omit to perform
their duty in a manner calculated to dislocate the public
service or a branch thereof.
And it is an offence to encourage any person so employed
to be negligent or insubordinate in the performance of
their duty.
Section 59 of the Garda Sochna Act 2005 also makes it
an offence for any person to induce a member of the
Garda Sochna to withhold his or her service or to
commit a breach of discipline.

A number of legal experts TheJournal.ie spoke to said

these pieces of legislation would certainly make it an
offence for representative associations, such as
the GRA or the AGSI, to organise a strike or encourage
members to withdraw their labour.
However, neither of these acts makes it an offence for the
individual garda to go on strike.
The only certain thing is that it is a criminal offence to
encourage a member of the garda not to discharge his or
her duty, Professor Dermot Walsh of Kent Law School
explained.
Both the Garda Sochna Act 2005 and Garda
Sochna (Discipline) Regulations 2007 refer to a breach
of discipline for any member of An Garda Sochna to
obstruct the operation or implemention of official policy or
to disobey an order from a senior officer.
This would not put them at risk, however, of prosecution,
merely internal garda disciplinary procedures.

Right to strike

Most of this claim actually centres around the Industrial

Relations Act 1990. In its definitions section, the act

defines the term workers but excludes members of An
Garda Sochna and the Defence Forces from that term.
It then goes on to define the word strike as:
A cessation of work by any number or body of workers
acting in combination or a concerted refusal or a refusal
under a common understanding of any number of workers
to continue to work for their employer done as a means of
compelling their employer, or to aid other workers in
compelling their employer, to accept or not to accept
terms or conditions of or affecting employment.
In essence, the act says a strike is something workers do
but garda are not workers.
The purpose of this legislation is to provide statutory
defences, or immunities, to workers taking industrial
action. It protects them from actions that might be taken
against them for offences like conspiracy, inducing breach
of employment contract or intimidation.

What do the experts say?

Gerry Whyte, Trinity College School of Law said the act

does not confer a positive right to strike on workers
covered by it. Rather, it assumes that the taking of strike
action may, in the absence of the acts protections, result
in workers incurring civil liability.
In his opinion the failure of the act to apply to the garda
really does not tell us anything about whether they have a
right to strike.
It could be argued that the garda, like other workers, have
an implied constitutional right to withdraw their labour.
Unfortunately, this point has never been addressed by the
courts, hence the uncertainty in the law. If the garda had
such a right, I think that it might still be open to the
Oireachtas to legislate to regulate it in the public interest.

Source: Julien Behal/PA

Expert in employment law, Patrick Walshe, said a lot of

legal commentators pointed to this exclusion from the act
as the reason for the blue flu epidemic in the late 1990s:
There was a protracted pay dispute at that time and
because garda couldnt take industrial action in the
traditional sense, large numbers called in sick you could
definitely argue that this amounted to de facto industrial
action.
I dont think its legally accurate to describe garda
striking as illegal in the sense of it being a criminal
offence etc. To my mind, its more of a practical point
garda (and soldiers) have been deliberately excluded from
the provisions of the Act of 1990.
The legal experts all criticised the legislation around
garda strikes, describing it has unclear, fuzzy and
muddled. In order for something to be considered an
offence, there is usually an explicit restriction with
detailed penalties.
However, Michael Doherty of the Department of Law at
Maynooth University, said that while it is difficult to say
yes or no to whether striking is illegal, individual

members could face prosecution if they did go on strike

just not for the actual act of going on strike.
There is no right to strike under Irish law so workers
are granted a kind of negative right which protects them
if they fulfil certain procedural requirements like joining a
trade union, completing a ballot paper etc.
You cant then be liable for things that happen when
youre on strike that would otherwise be unlawful, he
explained.
This includes conspiracy against their employer,
interfering with the employers right to conduct business
or breaching their employment contract.
Inevitably, theyre going to do something that is a
criminal or civil wrong, but it would be up to the
authorities to prosecute or sue them.

What does Bunreacht Na hireann say?

A number of the legal experts TheJournal.ie spoke to

referenced rights under the Constitution that may cover
strike action.
Under Article 40, the State is required to respect and
defend the personal rights of the citizen. The
Constitution also guarantees liberty for the exercise of the
right of citizens to express their opinions freely,
to assemble peacefully and to form associations
and unions.
However, this article states laws may be enacted for the
regulation and control of this right in the public interest.
And it is extremely unlikely in the event of a challenge to
the Constitution that a gardas right to strike would be
deemed more important than public safety.

Council of Europe challenge

Following a complaint by AGSI, the Council of Europe

found in 2014 that the Irish government breached the
European Social Charter, which it had signed up to.
The council upheld the complaint, finding the government
was in violation of the agreement by denying garda the
right to engage in union action and negotiate their pay.

This decision is not binding, however, it is merely a light

slap on the wrist for the government and a suggestion that
they should change legislation.
As the Department of Justice has not taken any action in
relation to this decision and is not likely to it would
not have any bearing on action taken in the event of a
garda strike.
:

Conclusion

There is no doubt that it is currently illegal for the

GRA and AGSI or indeed anyone to encourage a
garda to go on strike. There are harsh penalties - up to a
50,000 fine or five years in prison. In reality, this means
it would be illegal to organise a mass action and it would
be difficult for a strike to take place if no one could
organise one.
It is not clear, however, whether or not the act of going on
strike would be illegal for a rogue group of individual
members of An Garda Sochna. Even the Department of
Justice admits there is no single specific prohibition to
cover this, and unlike for the above offence, there are no
defined penalties.
And none of the legal experts we spoke to could give a
definitive answer to the question.
Because a strike has never happened, it is difficult to say
what kind of action would be taken, but individual garda
would definitely open themselves up to both civil and
criminal liability as well as disciplinary measures because
the legislation does not protect them like other workers.
Taking into account the uncertainty about individual
members going on strike, this claim is MOSTLY TRUE.

Concerns over affect

of any industrial
action on policing
Updated / Sept. 29, 2016

Nirn O'Sullivan was speaking in Dublin Castle

This is the actual article body

The Garda Commissioner Nirn O'Sullivan

has said she would be concerned about any
industrial action that could affect policing,
and encouraged all parties to engage in
discussions to resolve the outstanding issues.
Yesterday the Garda Representative
Association voted to take industrial
action on four dates in November following
the rejection of pay proposals with the
Department of Justice last week.
Speaking in Dublin Castle, the commissioner
said: "I would obviously be concerned of

anything that would cause any disruption to

policing, but what I would encourage
everybody to do is to remain engaged in the
mechanisms that are there.
"I am very confident that those mechanisms
will achieve the best outcomes for
everybody."
The Chairperson of the Policing Authority said
they would be keeping a watching brief on
the situation.

Josephine Feehily said they hope the strike

does not go ahead and that she is conscious
not to say anything that could inflame the
situation, but she said if it does she will want
to know from Commissioner O'Sullivan what
contingency plans are to be put in place for
policing the country.
She said: " we will want to understand if
the industrial action is proceeding, what
contingency plans might be put in place.
"I noted yesterday or this morning that the

GRA representative talked about emergency

services being provided. We will be anxious
to understand what does that mean."
New regional garda units to tackle
abuse planned
Earlier, Ms OSullivan said new garda units
are to be set up in regional areas by the end
of the year to investigate sexual offences and
domestic abuse.
The Garda Commissioner told the Policing
Authority that the new Regional Protective
Services Units will ensure that such inquiries
are conducted in a professional and
consistent manner all over the country.
She also said a new Risk Management
Process was being put in place to protect
victims of domestic abuse.
The commissioner also said that garda were
addressing the problems with the crime
statistics in relation to the misclassification
and non-recording of reported crime.
She said an automated crime-recording
system was being introduced and more
civilian staff would be involved in logging
crime reports.
The commissioner outlined the progress she
said had been made in tackling serious and
organised crime.
She said in the past 18 months the Drugs and
Organised Crime Bureau had seized 36m
worth of drugs, 1.9m in cash, 35 guns

- including AK47 assault rifles - and over

1,000 rounds of ammunition.
177 people had been charged.

The commissioner was addressing the

Policing Authority at its public hearing in
Dublin Castle today.
Authority hears eight people in total
killed in Hutch-Kinahan feud
Garda said six people have been shot dead
in Ireland as part of the ongoing feud
between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs,
bringing to eight the total number killed in
Ireland and Spain.
Another 12 lives have been saved through
garda interventions, garda say.
Assistant Commissioner Jack Nolan told the
policing authority this afternoon that the feud
escalated dramatically following the murder
at the Regency Hotel last February.
However, he said eight people have been
charged in connection with the feud and are

before the courts, 19 firearms have been

seized and 8,000 lines of inquiry are being
pursued.
Of the 12 murders committed so far this
year, nine are related to organised crime, six
to to the feud, he said.
Assistant Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan
said there were 12 incidents where garda
had prevented murders, seized guns and
intercepted individuals they believed were
going to carry out "assassinations".
He also said that some crime gangs have
been disrupted, others dismantled and their
activities have been damaged through
arrests, and seizures of cars and significant
quantities of cash and weapons.
Mr O'Sullivan said there was an international
dimension to the feud but information and
intelligence was being shared with police
services abroad.
Garda questioned on abuse case
The Policing Authority also questioned An
Garda Sochna about its failure to prosecute
a case of child sexual abuse.
The force was criticised by the Ombudsman
for its failings in a case where two children
aged seven and eight were raped but the
perpetrator was not prosecuted.
The investigating sergeant was transferred
and the case was not reassigned to another
officer for more than three years.
The commissioner today accepted this was
unacceptable and said while not taking away

from the impact on the victims An Garda

Sochna had reorganised governance and
accountability.
Chief Superintendent Michael Finn said new
systems were now in place to address
structural failures and ensure accountability
where cases would be reassigned if the
investigating officer was transferred and no
longer "fall through the cracks".
The commissioner said it was important that
"ownership and "oversight" were attached
but there remains a risk until they have the
full complement of garda members they need
to do the job.
She added that the Garda National Protective
Services Bureau is also liasing with Tusla and
other child protection agencies.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0929/820226noirin-osullivan-policing-authority/

Proposed pay deal

reached with main
garda union
Updated / Sept. 25, 2016

Members of the GRA protesting outside Leinster House

This is the actual article body

A proposed pay deal has been agreed by the

Department of Justice and the Garda
Representative Association following months
of negotiations.
The deal, if backed by members, could see
the threat of industrial action by the union
averted.
Talks between the Department and the
largest garda union on pay had been on-

going since June.

In July, the GRA announced that its 10,500
members were withdrawing co-operation
with the Department's 'transformation
agenda' as part of its dispute over pay,
particularly for new recruits.
The move was in response to the
Government's move to put a freeze on
increments because the GRA had rejected the
Lansdowne Road Agreement.
The framework of the proposals would see
a 4,000 rent allowance restored to new
entrants.
The GRA had signed up to the earlier
Haddington Road Agreement, which imposed
pay cuts, increment freezes and additional
unpaid working hours on around 300,000
public servants.
However, under emergency legislation known
as FEMPI, unions which did not sign up to the
LRA faced an immediate freeze on
increments, the loss of restoration of pay cuts
and allowances.

The GRA said a positional document from

these discussions will now be presented to
the central executive committee tomorrow
for their consideration and a decision will be
made as to whether or not to put the
proposal to members.
The union also balloted members for strike
action, the result of which is due on Tuesday.
Speaking on RTs This Week, Minister for
Education Richard Bruton said the deal
showed that the Lansdowne Road Agreement
was working.
He added that almost all unions were now on
board and the deal was delivering.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0925/819072garda-pay/

GRA votes to take

industrial action in
November
Updated / Sept. 29, 2016

200 divisional delegates, representing rank-and-file

garda, are meeting in Tullamore

The Garda Representative Association has

voted to take industrial action following the
rejection of pay proposals negotiated with
the Department of Justice last week.
In a statement, the GRA said the action
includes "a unilateral withdrawal of services"
on 4, 11, 18 and 25 November.
The decision was taken at a meeting in
Tullamore to discuss proposals aimed at
resolving their dispute over pay and
conditions.
This evening, the Garda Commissioner issued
a statement encouraging all groups to remain
engaged with the talks process on Garda pay
and conditions.
Nirn O'Sullivan said the best outcome for
all, including the public, would be that these
issues are resolved within the process.
Tnaiste and Minister for Justice Frances
Fitzgerald said she was disappointed by the

news.
She said: "Resolution of any outstanding
issues of concern to the GRA can only be
addressed through engagement between the
parties and my Department continues to be
available to discuss those issues.
"It would be most unfortunate if, rather than
engaging further, action were to be
contemplated that would not be in the best
interests of our communities or An Garda
Sochna."
Assistant Garda Commissioner Jack Nolan
said the idea of garda withdrawing services
for four days would be a pretty
unprecedented step for An Garda Sochna,
and he hoped they would not get to that
situation and he would urge everybody to
continue to talk to each other.
Speaking tonight at the Dublin City Crime
Forum at Dublin City Hall, he said hoped
everyone could continue to negotiate and
arrive at a suitable solution for all concerned.

GRA General Secretary Pat Ennis said the

organisation wants pay immediately restored
and conditions addressed without any further
delay.
Speaking on RT's Six One, he said the GRA
was exhausted from negotiations that have
proved "fruitless".
Mr Ennis said the "organs of the State" have
failed GRA members and have compelled
them to take industrial action.
"It's a momentous day. It's unprecedented,
but that's what our conference decided on
today," he said.
"It's not a choice that was taken easily.
"We are a vocational group of people and it
was with great reluctance that this decision
was made today, but we felt that we had no
option to achieve a successful outcome to
our negotiations."
Mr Ennis said that if strike action is taken,

emergency services will still be operational.

He said it was not a "blue flu" where
garda would call in sick but a withdrawal of
services.
Such action could leave individual garda and
those members in charge of the Garda
Representative Association open to both
criminal and disciplinary proceedings.
It is an offence under the Garda Sochna Act
for any person to induce or do anything to
induce a Garda to withhold his or her services
or commit a breach of discipline.
A person guilty of such an offence faces a
fine of up to 3,000 and/or up to a year in
prison if convicted in the District Court, and a
fine of up to 50,000 and/or up to five years
in prison if convicted in the Circuit Court.
It is also a breach of discipline for any Garda
to do any act which obstructs the operation
or implementation of official policy, directions
or instructions.
The GRA does not have trade union status
and therefore its members, garda, do not
have the protection of or the freedom in law
to withdraw their services.
They are excluded from the protections under
the Industrial Relations Acts that exist for
other persons engaged in Industrial action.
Yesterday, a GRA ballot of their 10,500 rankand-file members revealed that over 95%
were prepared to take industrial action.
Meanwhile, the Association of Garda

Sergeants and Inspectors has announced that

it will hold a special delegate conference on
17 October in Athlone to discuss proposed
industrial action.

The rejected proposals between the GRA and

the Department of Justice included a
restoration of rent allowance for new recruits
to the force and the reinstatement of
increments backdated to 1 July.
It is also promised that promotion
opportunities for garda would increase on a
pro-rata basis as the force expands to reach
a strength of 15,000 as committed to by the
Government.
The rent allowance would be restored in two
phases, the first 50% on 1 January 2017 and
the second 50% from 1 January 2018.
Garda would be required to work an extra 15
hours per year but that could be done in 15minute blocks.

https://www.rte.ie/ne
ws/2016/0928/81974
3-garda-pay/
Over 100 attend
forum on Dublin city
crime
Updated / Sept. 28, 2016

The forum was held at Dublin's City Hall

This is the actual article body

Over 100 people took part in a public forum

on crime in Dublin city this evening.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin held the meeting

for all citizens to have their voices heard in

relation to recent criminal violence in the
City.
Eight people have been killed in an ongoing
feud over the past year, many of them have
died on the streets of the inner city.
But Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr has
said that although many of the recent killings
had taken place in one area of the city, the
violence is affecting the citizens of the whole
city.
Mayor Carr said he wanted those that have
not had an opportunity to speak about this
issue to have their voices heard.
The meeting heard calls for the Garda to be
given more resources.
Trina O'Connor, NCCCAP Training
Centre Manager in Dublin's north inner city,
said they needed to look at different
approaches taken by other countries because
what was happening was extraordinary and
was not something that young people should
have to live with.
Marie Metcalfe, Co-ordinator of the North
Inner City Community Policing Forum, said
they did not have enough garda to make the
community feel safe.
Chair of the Government Inner City Task
Force, Kieran Mulvey, and Assistant Garda
Commissioner Jack Nolan were among those

listening to the concerns raised.

Mr Mulvey is expected to issue his final report
for the task force by the end of November.
Speaking about the forum, Mr Nolan said he
had outlined the Garda response and in
particular to the major murder investigations.
He said over 45 people had been arrested in
relation to these crimes, while over 160
searches and 8,000 lines of inquiry were
conducted, and 19 firearms seized.

Paschal Donohoe: If we raised Garda

wages, every other public servant
would expect the same
Thursday, September 29, 2016

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal

Donohoe has said Government cannot increase Garda
wages as all other public sector workers would then
expect the same, writes Elaine Loughlin of the Irish
Examiner.
Frontline garda have given the Government five weeks to
restore their pay or face unprecedented strike action on
four days next month.
Asked about the Garda pay claim at an Oireachtas Finance
Committee Mr Donohoe said: "What's most important to
me is that we have a rate of wage restoration that is
affordable.
"Were we to reach a particular agreement on wages for
the Garda every other public servant would expect that to
happen as well."
Garda will not report for duty on November 4, 11, 18 and
25 in a row over pay and conditions.
But this afternoon Mr Donohoe said he would be willing to

meet with garda in a bid to solve the pay dispute.

"Its a very serious development and we have great

respect for the work of An Garda Siochna and we need
the Lansdowne Road Agreement to be honoured and
implemented.
"The precedent is that the minister who has responsibility
for that policy area leads negotiations in those areas and
that's the Tnaiste and Minister for Justice, but I and my
department will give the Tnaiste any support and
assistance we can offer."
He added that industrial action has not begun yet and is a
number of weeks away and so it is very important that
discussions take place in the weeks to come.
"Its very important that a period of discussion takes place,
regarding what has happened.
"I have to ensure that the wages that the State pay, that
we can afford to pay them both now and in the future and
that is why the Lansdowne Road Agreement is so
important.
"My clear message is that we want to support the guards,

we want to support them in their work, but we have to

honour commitments that we have to everybody who
works in public services in our country."
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/paschal-donohoe-if-weraised-garda-wages-every-other-public-servant-would-expect-the-same757065.html