GRA to go ahead with vote of no confidence in commissioner Drew Harris

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) is to go ahead with its planned vote of no confidence in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris despite the two parties meeting in Dublin on Thursday morning in a bid to resolve their differences.

The Irish Times understands no agreements were reached at the meeting and that Mr Harris expressed his dissatisfaction to the GRA leadership about its plans to ballot its members about a lack of confidence in him as commissioner.

The GRA set out its concerns about developments impacting its members, and Mr Harris effectively put forward his case about the progress being made on some of those issues. But Mr Harris also insisted the rostering arrangements put in place for the pandemic – that the overwhelming majority of Garda members want retained – will definitely come to an end in two months.

Aside from the now protracted and worsening dispute over rosters, the GRA is also concerned about falling Garda numbers – due to recruitment and retention issues – and the high workload created for its members due to the personnel shortages.

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The GRA is also concerned Garda members were being suspended for years after allegations were made against them. Some in the Garda believe that in many cases the decision to suspend the Garda member under investigation was heavy-handed, especially as investigations took so long.

After Thursday’s meeting with Mr Harris at Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, GRA interim general secretary Ronan Slevin said the meeting had been presented as an opportunity to “discuss some of the concerns recently raised” by the association.

“While certain issues such as resources, recruitment and suspensions were raised and discussed, we are disappointed to report that the central issue regarding rosters remains unresolved,” he said. “In fact, the commissioner reiterated his intention to revert to the pre-Covid roster in November and stated that his team have already initiated the implementation of this.

“Commissioner Harris also informed our representatives of his dissatisfaction of the GRA’s central executive committee’s decision to ballot its members on a vote of no confidence in his leadership, and questioned the intent of such a ballot. The ballot of members will now proceed as planned with the result expected within four to six weeks.”

Mr Harris on Wednesday contacted the GRA, which represents about 12,000 rank-and-file gardaí in a 14,000-strong force, seeking the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour. The GRA leadership set out its concerns, while Mr Harris and members of his senior leadership team set out their positions.

Sources familiar with the meeting said although the meeting was cordial, “no common ground was reached”.

In a statement after the meeting, Garda Headquarters said the Garda had received “no formal notification” of the GRA’s planned no confidence ballot and learned of it through the media.

Against that background, Mr Harris had invited the GRA leadership to another meeting “in order to ascertain why such an extraordinary ballot is being undertaken”. It added Mr Harris told the GRA his preferred course was to reach “collective agreement” on the new rosters with the Garda staff associations at the Workplace Relations Commission as three years of talks had failed to bring about an agreement.

He had also set out to the GRA that 464 Garda recruits were in training at present as part of efforts to address falling Garda numbers, adding a range of supports for frontline gardaí had been introduced during Mr Harris’s time as commissioner, all based on research, Garda Headquarters said.

“This has included an increase in front-line supervisors at Sergeant and Inspector rank; over 12,000 mobility devices being provided to front-line Gardaí; the largest fleet of vehicles in the organisation’s history, increased welfare and mental health supports, and a new, more practical operational uniform,” the statement said, though it added the pandemic-related rosters no longer met the needs, or the budget realities, of the force.

Contingency rosters, featuring 12-hours shifts, introduced to facilitate a policing surge during the pandemic period, have been repeatedly extended and remain in place. They are very popular across the force, as they reduce the number of shifts Garda members work and also result in additional allowances related to working unsocial hours.

However, Mr Harris has attempted to introduce new rosters that he says better place the Garda to meet modern policing challenges. Those new rosters involve shorter and more frequent shifts but are being opposed on the basis they will result in up to 47 additional working days per year and result in lost allowances.

Two weeks ago Mr Harris surprised the Garda staff associations by announcing the Garda would revert to the pre-pandemic rosters, pending agreement on new rostering arrangements. The move was seen as an effort to sidestep the dispute between maintaining the pandemic-related contingency rosters or moving to completely new arrangements.

The executive of the GRA has since decided ballot its members on a vote of no confidence in Mr Harris, with the rosters issue seen as the main driver for calling the ballot.

However, Mr Harris remains determined to revert to the pre-pandemic rosters from November 6th, and once the force is back to the traditional rosters – and off the pandemic arrangements – he will revisit his plans for a completely new rostering system.

The change commencing in November will see gardaí moving away from the contingency rosters in place since March, 2020, and which involve working 12-hour shifts for four days, followed by four days off. They will move to working 10-hour shifts for six days and then having four days off.

On the issue of the Garda recruitment and retention, it is understood Mr Harris told the GRA on Thursday that recruitment had recommenced since the pandemic and that after some time Garda numbers would stop falling and would begin to increase again. The Garda force was at a record 14,750 members at the beginning of the pandemic, which forced the closure of the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary.

With retirements from the Garda set to reach around 350 this year and resignations on course to reach 140 to 150, some 500 new gardaí will be required this year to even maintain Garda numbers, which have fallen from 14,750 three years ago to just under 14,000 at present.

Many Garda members say the sharp increase in resignations is clear evidence of low morale and extreme working conditions in the force. One said resignations were “literally unheard of four or five years ago” yet had doubled since 2020 and showed no signs of abating.