Nine out of 10 gardaí fear going to work

ALMOST nine out of 10 gardaí feel afraid going to work and believe there are 40% fewer members than are needed to carry out tasks safely.

An independent survey of members, commissioned by the Garda Representative Association, reveals low morale among members and fears over security even inside stations.

Hundreds of gardaí were interviewed by the report’s authors and 85% said they feel unsafe going to work.

Members also complained about inadequate transport and equipment. The GRA has already raised concerns about communication equipment, described as outdated and prone to breaking down as members are forced to use their own mobile phones in emergency situations.

Female gardaí reported being exposed to bullying and harassment from colleagues.

Over 60% of those interviewed said they were regularly exposed to potentially fatal illnesses while on duty, including HIV and hepatitis B and C. Seven out of 10 claimed they did not have adequate back-up when dealing with prisoners.

While the Government has pledged to increase the force by 2,000 to 14,000, the commitment has been delayed by last year’s public funding freeze and by large numbers leaving the force.

Opposition politicians have rounded on Justice Minister Michael McDowell over the claimed failure to increase the numbers. The Government argues that the Garda budget - at over €1 billion - is at the highest level ever and that numbers are increasing.

Joe Costello, Labour’s justice spokesman, said: “(The report) is a critical indictment of the failure of this government and this Minister of Justice to address lowering morale in a force that is increasingly losing public confidence.”

The Green Party’s Ciarán Cuffe argued the government should start investing in the gardaí rather than in promising to create more prison spaces.

Security in stations is also raised in the report, compiled by two University of Limerick academics.

The report concluded that security in stations was deficient in the majority of cases. “Members of the public were potentially exposed to a host of different risk situations,” the report’s authors, Professor Thomas Garavan and Ronan Carberry, concluded.

Recently, a man brandishing a firearm - it was later found to be a pellet gun - entered a south Dublin station and threatened gardaí. Last week, a man with carving knife threatened gardaí in Carlow Garda Station.

Younger gardaí, who are more likely to be on the front line, reported greater concerns for their safety. Male gardaí are, it appears, exposed to greater risks, though their female colleagues reported concerns over bullying and harassment in work.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy will receive the report next week.

Tough times

In July, four gardaí were hospitalised in a single night in Dublin, three after being sprayed by pepper spray in a fast food shop, one after being punched and bitten in a garda station.

In recent weeks, a man walked into a garda station with a handgun, while on two separate occasions members were threatened with knives, by a man in Carlow and by a woman in Blackrock.

Last month, a court heard how two gardaí were assaulted by four men and a youth. The two Cork gardaí were knocked to the ground, beaten and repeatedly kicked.

Among numerous recent incidents in Limerick, a patrol car carrying a number of gardaí was fired on by a masked man with a shotgun.

In June, two detectives searching a flat in Co Clare were jumped and beaten. One of them was punched and bitten.