Gardaí hit out at plan to overhaul disciplinary process

Rank-and-file gardaí today hit out at Minister for Justice Michael McDowell’s plans to radically reform the force’s cumbersome disciplinary process.

Labelling the plan opportunistic, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) claimed there was a lack of consultation with unions and accused the minister of political appeasement.

PJ Stone, GRA general secretary, claimed the minister was ignoring the fundamental leadership and resource deficits in the force.

“Their publication today is inappropriate and makes a mockery of the Garda consultation and conciliation process between the department, management and the staff associations,” he said.

“We believe, like the handling of the Garda Reserve issue, the minister has no interest in bringing his workforce on board with his plans.”

Mr McDowell announced the draft reforms as the latest three reports from the Morris Tribunal were published. They pointed to the current disciplinary process in An Garda Síochána, noting its legal formalism was used to delay and frustrate simple inquiries.

Mr McDowell noted that the code of discipline has so many procedures that it turns into a complex probe, almost like a murder trial. It is hoped the reforms will streamline the system and remove delays.

But Mr Stone accused the minister of failing to take account of ongoing consultations between staff associations and management.

He also said Mr McDowell was ignoring the role rank-and-file officers were playing in the working groups set up to address the disciplinary issues raised by the two previous Morris reports.

Mr Stone added: “We have actively participated with Garda management working parties in addressing all disciplinary issues raised by Morris in previous reports while seeking to protect the rights of our members, who have rights like every other Irish citizen.

“This process is ongoing and is the only labour relations mechanism that exist to the staff associations to raise their concerns if they feel the working and constitutional rights of their members are being transgressed.”