State Papers – 1977: Ministers lock horns over Garda numbers

A DISPUTE, between heads in the departments of justice and finance during the Fine Gael-Labour Coalition in 1976, erupted over Garda resources, which saw a series of heated missives fired back and forth between ministers.

Minister for Justice Pat Cooney wanted resources for 500 more gardaí, but the Department of Finance criticised his submission to Cabinet. Finance Minister Richie Ryan attacked his department’s “logorrhea” adding it was small wonder expenditure got out of control with millions spent on “flimsy grounds”.

Mr Cooney said he was under “great” pressure to boost Garda numbers, due to IRA threats and general public safety. However, his sudden move to seek approval for the gardaí from Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and the Cabinet was highly criticised by Mr Ryan.

Cooney, irate, responded to his Cabinet colleague’s objections with a 13-page letter to Government.

Mr Ryan’s original critical memorandum to government had been “extraordinary” and its tone “offensive”. Indeed, its line of argument was “unworthy of a government department“, said Cooney.

In attempting to save money, Finance were trying to “brush facts aside and look for scapegoats in the Department of Justice,” he argued.

Mr Ryan’s department had also said the request for 500 extra gardaí was an “unreasoned proposal”.

However, Mr Cooney saw Finance’s attitude as a reprimand, a “strongly worded attack” on his department. He rebutted Finance’s scrutiny of Garda numbers, criticising their calculations done up for Government as “a hit and run tactic”.

The enforcement of traffic regulations was “seriously inadequate” and there were fears Ireland might go the way of the US were “violent crime was endemic” and there was “practically no preventative policing,” Mr Cooney added. The public would not accept “a deterioration in the level of policing.”

The proposed Garda Order included an extra two chief superintendents, 85 sergeants and over 400 gardaí. It would help reduce overtime as well as fill a task force to tackle kidnappings, robberies and prison riots.

Mr Ryan, in a terse reply, dismissed Cooney’s memorandum. It was a “diatribe”.

“If the time wasted by the authors, stenographers, typists and copiers had been put to proper use, you might have been able to comply with Cabinet procedures,” Ryan told Cooney in the letter copied to Cabinet colleagues.

“As the conscientious officers of both my departments have useful work to do, I have directed them not to dissipate their time and talents in replying to your Department’s logorrhea.”

Ryan reminded Cooney he had earlier that year claimed an article in the force’s magazine, the Garda Review, could cause embarrassment if Garda numbers did not rise.

In a cutting comment, Ryan added: “Small wonder public expenditure gets out of control when millions are spent on such flimsy grounds.”

The letter closed with “A Happy Christmas to you”.

On the turn of New Year, Cooney penned a defensive reply to Ryan, also copied to Cabinet.

The attack had begun on Ryan’s side, Cooney said and he wanted to address “factual misstatements”.

Claims he was spending “millions” to save embarrassment could not be taken seriously, he said. There was a real and “pressing” need for the extra 500 gardaí. Recruitment was “very urgent”, Cooney wrote.

The minister for justice defended his department, but apologised for the fact that Finance had received such short notice about the Garda plans for Cabinet.

He conceded his previous memorandum had “hard-hitting sentences“, but added: “(A dog that is bitten is apt to bite and this dog was being kicked very severely.”)

It was eventually agreed to recruit extra gardaí, despite tough economical times.