Garda received €45,000 for overtime

One garda received more than €45,000 in overtime payments in 2005, Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee yesterday.

Mr Conroy also said he would be prepared to bring a recommendation to the Minister for Justice on the closure of some Garda stations if there was local support for such a move.

He also revealed that when gardaí deploy water cannon, the temperature of the water has to be heated to comply with human rights legislation.

In answer to Fianna Fáil TD Seán Ardagh, the commissioner said he did not have details of the highest amount received in total by any garda for last year.

He said the €45,000 paid in overtime to one garda in 2005 did not take account of basic salary or other allowances such as for rent, night duty or Sunday working. The garda was based in Dublin.

Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell said the Garda pay bill ran to about €800 million. Of this, about €550 million related to basic salary and a further €250 million was accounted for by overtime and allowances.

The total overtime bill for 2005 was €79 million.

Mr Conroy told the committee there were over 700 Garda stations around the country and that he was not in favour of opening new ones, as they would be a drain on manpower.

"If I could get support from local communities regarding the closure of Garda stations I would have no difficulty in bringing a recommendation to the Minister on that front," he said.

Mr Conroy said he backed getting gardaí in uniform on to the streets. An additional 350 civilian support personnel would be appointed in the near future to replace uniformed members who were currently carrying out administrative work, he said.

Labour TD Joan Burton maintained that community gardaí were being moved to new posts after two to three months.

Committee chairman, Fine Gael's Michael Noonan, said there was a lack of continuity in this area. Mr Conroy said he would be disappointed if a garda who had been trained in community policing was being moved after two months. He said he would raise this with his assistant commissioners to ensure the spirit of such community policing appointments was adhered to.

Questioned by Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins about Garda operations in Rossport, the commissioner said people were entitled to go to work.