GRA conference:The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has given its first indication that it will press for better conditions if nurses win concessions in their dispute with the health service.
General secretary of the GRA, PJ Stone, said the association supported the nurses and psychiatric nurses and would watch developments with interest.
"We believe that An Garda Síochána, in moving forward with all the new legislation, is being left very badly behind in respect of industrial relations mechanisms.
"We are sending out a little signal that we will not be behind the door in coming out if other people are facilitated in relation to their working conditions.
"You cannot treat one section of the public service differently than others. That's what we've been told year after year after year. We are prepared to present our arguments."
He was not talking about a 'blue flu'-style form of industrial action but rather the promotion of industrial relations mechanisms for gardaí. Currently members of the force had no access to the Labour Court or the Labour Relations Commission.
He believed gardaí were as entitled as other workers to access to an industrial relations mechanism. He also believed the strength of the force needed to be increased to 21,000, from the current 14,000 attested and trainee members.
Speaking at the close of the GRA's annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo, Mr Stone said while gardaí accepted the new Garda Ombudsman Commission, it was imperative it was rolled out correctly. If not, policing would suffer.
There had to be a balance struck between the challenges of modern policing and the manner in which the commission investigated complaints against members of the force, he told the conference
"If there's a balance struck and a fairness struck, then the Garda Síochána will react to the challenge.
"Policing is robust - we meet people usually in confrontational situations. We're not nurses, we're not firemen. We don't come sometimes to assist you, we come to arrest you."
Gardaí were dealing with "highly sophisticated" gangs who "would kill you and me in one blink of an eye".
The GRA believed gardaí must not be allowed to "lose their edge" because of the ombudsman commission.
"If we become the soft option in terms of standing back on criminality, the only people that will suffer will be the Irish people and it will become apparent, not this year, not next year, but four or five years down the road and people will be crying out for law and order."
He hoped the ombudsman commission would realise "very quickly" that people would use the new complaints mechanisms for their "own nefarious reasons".
The current Garda Complaints Board had done "very little" to address vexatious complaints and he would wait and see if the ombudsman adopted a different approach.
Mr Stone said he shared the concern of some delegates who spoke at conference and revealed that contracts valued at €10,000 were being offered by criminals to gunmen to shoot certain gardaí.
He believed if intelligence came to light that a garda was being threatened, the issue must be taken seriously.
"I'm looking for people to understand that when members of An Garda Síochána are threatened, that there is a reaction to it rather than ignoring it. It's not being given the attention it deserves.
"We have to deal with that issue specifically and we will be taking that up with the new Minister for Justice. You can't have members of An Garda Síochána threatened by criminal gangs, otherwise we will be afraid to do our duty."
