Garda morale on the floor, says AGSI

Middle-ranking gardaí have told Justice Minister Alan Shatter that morale “was on the floor” and their work was being “undermined” because of the controversies hitting the force.

However, Mr Shatter was not at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors yesterday to hear the remarks.

Mr Shatter declined an invitation to give the traditional ministerial address at the conference ,as it clashed with personal religious commitments with the beginning of the Jewish festival of Passover.