Frontline gardaí have been “forced to return under protest” to Sligo Garda Station after receiving an official direction from local management to do so.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has hit out at a TD for raising allegations of misconduct in the Dáil, and not with GSOC or the Garda Commissioner.

Garda recruits are paid far less than their counterparts in England and Scotland and GRA representatives say it is ironic the Department they work for has ‘Equality’ as part of its title.

Gardaí have suffered so much from pay cuts some are sleeping in cars because they cannot afford to drive home, the annual conference for rank-and-file members has heard.

Rank and file gardaí lashed out at Justice Minister Dermot Ahern today over his remarks that the force was among the best paid and resourced in Europe.