Frontline gardaí back invite to force chief

Despite a significant amount of dissent, rank-and-file gardaí have voted to invite Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan to speak at their annual conference.

However, there’s no reprieve for Alan Shatter, who becomes the first minister for justice to be denied an invitation to attend the Garda Representative Association (GRA) conference since the organisation was founded in 1978.

The GRA’s central executive committee, which represents more than 11,000 frontline gardaí, voted yesterday to invite Commissioner Callinan to the conference which will take place in Westport, Co Mayo at the end of the month.

However, the Irish Examiner understands a significant number of gardaí in the 31 divisions voted against inviting their boss.

Amid mounting anger at cuts to pay and conditions, committee members representing divisions in Dublin City, greater Leinster, Munster, and Connaught voted against inviting the commissioner. Some divisional representatives, whose members had earlier expressed no confidence in their boss, rowed back and decided to extend an invite.

Sources maintain that despite the upset, they still have respect for his rank and “in a disciplined organisation, it would be unthinkable not to invite him” to the conference.

Others, opposed to the commissioner attending, say he needs to do more to represent the genuine concerns about the Government’s “lack of appropriate funding to maintain the force’s capability to fight crime effectively”.

GRA president John Parker refused to comment on the vote at GRA headquarters in Dublin, except to confirm that a majority of rank-and-file gardaí were in favour of inviting the commissioner to attend and speak at the conference.

“The decision was made to invite the commissioner and for him to make an address. I will be putting forward to him [in my address] most stringently our members’ concerns at that forum,” said Mr Parke.

He said yesterday’s meeting did not reconsider an earlier vote not to invite Mr Shatter to the conference.

In 2006, the GRA invited then justice minister Michael McDowell to attend the conference, but refused to let him make a speech, which was unprecedented at the time. Mr McDowell turned up, nevertheless, and mingled with the 160 or so delegates.