Garda chief says overtime must stay

The Garda Commissioner has said overtime pay for the force must remain but that a number of discretionary allowances could be subsumed into general pay for Garda members.

It has also emerged that nearly a third of the 108 allowances being reviewed by Garda management are not actually being claimed by any members of the force.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan outlined issues on the allowances yesterday and revealed that a number of stations set for closure would be decided in the coming weeks.