Ahern pulls out of GRA address

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern today refused to attend a conference of Garda rank-and-file after discovering details of a planned verbal attack on his Government.

In an unprecedented move, the minister told Garda Representative Association (GRA) president Michael O’Boyce he was also withdrawing his officials from the gathering in Limerick.

“Because of the tenor of the address proposed by president Michael O’Boyce, the minister is withdrawing from the conference and has withdrawn his officials,” a GRA spokesman said.

Mr O’Boyce was intending to accuse the Government of “national sabotage” in his final speech as outgoing president of the grass-roots garda organisation.

But the Donegal-based garda pulled his speech – which was already circulated to the media – after the last-minute snub by Mr Ahern, who had been intending to travel to the conference earlier in the day.

In the address, Mr O’Boyce was planning to say anger within the force at a government who has slashed lower-income salaries “to protect economic traitors” would soon find an outlet.

In overtly political tones, Mr O’Boyce said Irish workers were paying the price for this “treachery”.

Mr Ahern said he was extremely disappointed and dismayed to have read the circulated remarks.

“These amount to an unprecedented political intervention by a Garda representative and have no place in a modern democracy,” the minister said.

“They besmirch the long-held excellent reputation that An Garda Siochana has earned for serving the people and institutions of this State without fear or favour.

“No democrat could tolerate such political interventions by any member of a police force.”

Mr Ahern said he utterly refuted the allegations made in the speech.

“I am confident that they would not be endorsed by the vast majority of rank-and-file gardai,” he said.

“The force is ill-served by such political interventions.

“In light of these facts, it is impossible for me to attend the GRA conference.”

Delegates cheered and clapped when GRA secretary general PJ Stone announced Mr Ahern would not be attending.

Prompted by Mr Stone, there was a sustained standing ovation for Mr O’Boyce for having “the courage, the conviction to represent guards in times of need”.

Mr Stone also claimed Mr Ahern had the address since last Friday, and had ample time to respond to the GRA before now.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said he was “not happy” the force’s largest representative body had stepped into the political arena with the published remarks.

In the speech, Mr O’Boyce was intending to say gardaí and other public sector workers had endured an “unrelenting, distasteful and vitriolic attack from the Government and their wealthy cronies” during the past year and a half.

“This was distasteful and unbelievable considering the role garda take in society,” a copy of the address stated.

“It most definitely verged on incitement to hatred.”

The outgoing GRA president, who steps down at the end of this year’s annual conference, wrote gardai and Irish workers generally have been betrayed by a “self-serving, overpaid, under-worked and dishonest” Government.

“We are angry that we, our children and our children’s children have been sacrificed by this government to protect the people who bankrolled your party and robbed the Irish People,” he wrote.

“We are angry at the arrogance of a government corrupted by years of power has lost touch with the reality of life on a modest salary; if they ever knew it at all.

“A government whose only agenda is to protect the economic traitors.”

Focusing on Fianna Fáil, Mr O’Boyce accused the senior coalition partners of sacrificing the greater good and prosperity of the nation because bankers and speculators had bought the party.

“Truly, a government of national sabotage,” he said.

The government had created a new aristocracy that chooses whether to retain state pensions while still working and spends vast resources on the few, while taking pay from the majority, he said.

Mr O’Boyce also called for policing recruitment powers to be removed from Mr Ahern.

Policing numbers was being used as an election gimmick by Fianna Fáil and the GRA were intent on ending the “obnoxious trick”, he said.

The Garda leader said the GRA intended becoming a full trade union and would achieve this in the near future.