The first major review of the workings of the Garda Siochana in 18 years is expected to be announced by the Government this week, possibly tomorrow. It will be in conjunction with a review of Garda pay and conditions.
The proposed "bottom-up" review of the force will be the first since that carried out by Judge Louden Ryan in 1979.
Successive governments have resisted calls from Garda representatives for a commission of inquiry into the force.
The institution of a review - with the potential for major changes in work practices - is understood to have been accepted by the Garda staff associations on condition of a substantial pay increase.
It is expected that the Garda staff associations will be pursuing a pay deal for their members in the same region as the 13 per cent settlement for prison officers and 17 per cent settlement for nurses agreed earlier this year.
The Garda pay claim is expected to include the reopening of the previous public pay round, the PCW, along with the latest national pay increase of 9 1/4 per cent under Partnership 2000.
The Government has been resisting the Garda demands for the reopening of the PCW negotiations. The associations for officers up to the rank of inspector, representing about 10,000 members, settled for a deal increasing only pension allowances under the PCW in 1994.
It is understood the Government agreed to reopen the PCW negotiations with the gardai after meeting the executive of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) last Friday week.
This is likely to open the way for major changes to policing structures, particularly in Dublin.
The main changes will probably include the night-time closing of some of the 42 stations in the Dublin Metropolitan Area (DMA) and the re-rostering of officers to day-time duties.
The overall review of the force is expected to be made by some members of the group which carried out the Strategic Management Initiative (SMI) report on the force.
The findings of the SMI report are expected to be published by the Government this week, along with the announcement about the reopening of pay negotiations.
Details of the report were published in The Irish Times last month. It recommends a review of station opening hours and changes to the present shift system operated by gardai in urban areas.
The report was commissioned last year by the Government after the murder of the journalist, Veronica Guerin. It was presented to the Taoiseach in June.
Late last month the Government proposed that the ICTU would be involved in the discussions over pay.
However, it is understood this proposal was firmly opposed by Garda representatives. It is now believed that a former senior official of the Department of Education will be appointed to oversee the pay element of the review process.