GRA backs nurses' industrial action

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has given its support to nurses engaged in industrial action to secure better pay and working hours.

Speaking at the association's annual conference in Co Mayo today, GRA general secretary PJ Stone said gardaí also felt they were being left behind in respect of industrial relations mechanisms.

Meanwhile, he also said the GRA had real concerns about the new Garda Ombudsman Commission due to begin work this month.

Mr Stone said the association was concerned that the new independent oversight body left gardaí vulnerable to bogus complaints.

"Policing is a robust challenge," he said.

"We meet people usually in confrontational situations. We're not nurses, we're not firemen, we don't come sometimes to assist you, we come to arrest you."