COMMENT: Supporting the Gardai on an increasingly hostile frontline

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris faces a difficult few weeks ahead with ballots being distributed to the Garda Representative Association's (GRA) 11,000 members that will determine if the rank and file have any confidence in the Belfast native's ability to lead them.

The vote, which is expected to take four to six weeks stems from the long-running dispute surrounding the potential return of a pre-Covid roster, which the GRA said will impact on officers' work-life balance; see 20 per cent less officers working at any one time; and could result in some public services being affected.

Specifically, Commissioner Harris said gardaí should return to a six days on/four days off, 10-hour shift roster from 6th November. However, the GRA say guards should continue to work on a four days on/four days off, 12-hour shift pattern.

Following the meeting, Commissioner Harris repeated his desire to the GRA to continue with the plan to revert to the pre-Covid roster on 6th November.

"It is vital that whatever garda roster is in place serves the public and supports the most vulnerable in society, ensures the health and wellbeing of gardaí, and allows the Commissioner to effectively and efficiently manage the organisation within the budget available," Commission Harris said.

He added that "it was clear that the Covid-19 roster no longer meets those criteria."

With neither side seemingly willing to back down, an uncertain few weeks lie ahead for the top brass in the Phoenix Park and the thousands of rank and file gardai across the country

In these pages last week, retired Chief Supt and Dunshaughlin native Christy Mangan issued a withering assessment of current Garda morale and discipline and said issues of retention and working conditions needed to be urgently addressed.

If that was last week, further proof of just how difficult conditions are for Gardai are underlined in the pages of this week's edition of the Meath Chronicle.

In one incident before Trim District Court last week, a 29-year-old man called a Garda “a tramp” during one of two public order incidents he was involved in.

The court heard Gardai found him at Trim Road, Navan in a highly intoxicated state and staggering out in front of traffic. He had eight previous convictions including four for public disorder and one for drug possession. In this instance he was “highly aggressive and abusive".

It's far from a rare occurrence.

In a separate incident recorded last week, again in these pages, Trim Court heard how a Navan man threatened to assault two uniformed gardai when they confronted a topless man breaking up a house in Ratoath.

It was the early hours of New Year's Day when the gentleman in question was heard to say to gardai, 'I'll stab these c***s' as he reached for a drawer.

Judge Liddy in hearing the details of that particular case was rightfully unimpressed. “Here we have a house being smashed up and we had two Gardai trying to do their duty. It was disgraceful. Then to say you were going to ‘stab these two c***s’ was unbelievable.” He sentenced defendant to six months imprisonment.

The situations our gardai have to deal with at times are exceptionally grim and challenging. It has to be of grave concern so, that we are expecting them to step into the breach on our behalf when we know; Garda resources and recruitment is not where it should be; members are leaving the force in higher numbers than ever before; more and more senior members are taking early retirement than ever before; visibility of gardai on the streets of towns like Navan is far from satisfactory.

And we now know these gardai out on patrol feel undervalued and unappreciated by senior Garda management.

It doesn't make for a pretty picture of a Garda force of the people for the people.

On Friday, An Garda Siochana's Roads Policing Unit held their annual August Bank Holiday Road Safety Briefing on the Navan South slipway to the M3 where they encouraged drivers to take extra care over the weekend.

The show of strength photocall was designed to remind motorists of the need to be extra vigilant as more of us take to the roads. It should also serve as a reminder too that in the event of accident and tragedy, these men and women are often the first to respond, sometimes bearing witness to heartbreaking and traumatic scenes.

They deserve the support of our communities but more importantly they must have the full support of Garda management and the Minister for Justice that allows them to do a job that has become increasingly difficult and challenging.