Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern today vowed to block the garda rank and file representative body from becoming a fully-fledged trade union.
Mr Ahern, who this week faced criticism in a speech planned but not delivered by Garda Representative Association (GRA) president Michael O’Boyce, warned it would never happen as long as he was in office.
The Minister, who snubbed an invitation to the GRA conference over the speech, said efforts were being made to give the representative body more power. “I want to make it clear that the GRA are effectively campaigning to become a full trade union - as long as I am minister the organisation will never become a trade union,” Mr Ahern said.
With relations between the two sides at one of their lowest levels, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy summoned the outgoing GRA head and general secretary PJ Stone to a meeting in Phoenix Park headquarters tomorrow over the intended political attack.
Mr Ahern also announced plans to restart recruitment to the force by the end of the year as 216 new officers took part in a passing out ceremony at the Garda College Templemore.
“A recruitment drive will be necessary to compensate for retiring members and to keep Garda numbers up to approved levels,” the Minister said.
“It is my top priority to maintain Garda operational strength at a level, agreed with my colleague the Minister for Finance, necessary to cope with the challenges you face.”
In the script of his address, Mr O’Boyce claimed the Government had been “corrupted” and that Fianna Fáil had been “bought” by developers and bankers. The incoming president of the GRA, Damien McCarthy, said today he had "no difficulty" supporting his predecessor's comments.
The GRA president decided not to deliver the speech because the Minister was not present to defend the allegations.
Fianna Fáil backbench TD Niall Collins has said Mr O’Boyce should resign “or failing that he should be removed by the Garda Commissioner”.
“He has crossed the line and entered into the political arena and he has clearly reached a fundamental condition of his employment as a member of An Garda Síochána," he said.
Mr Stone said he believed calls for Mr O’Boyce’s resignation were unfair because they confused his role as a representative of members of An Garda Síochána and his role as a member of the force.
“If we had a proper structure, if issues were resolved, if we had an industrial relations mechanism which we could have confidence and trust in, it probably wouldn’t arise. But what you are seeing here is a build-up of frustration,” Mr Stone said.
After the row the Commissioner warned that officers should stay out of politics and concentrate on fighting crime. He has also refused to rule out disciplinary action over the attack.
Additional reporting PA