GRA appeals to Justice Minister to intervene in roster row

Garda Representative Association general secretary, Ronan Slevin, has specifically called on her to act with a view to “removing the barrier” — the November 6 deadline set by Drew Harris for the re-introduction of the old roster — in order to allow roster talks to progress. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has written to Justice Minister Helen McEntee asking her to intervene in their roster row with the Garda Commissioner.

GRA general secretary Ronan Slevin has specifically called on her to act with a view to “removing the barrier” — the November 6 deadline set by Drew Harris for the re-introduction of the old roster — in order to allow roster talks to progress.

The move, if successful, would bring the Government directly into the controversy, just days before the GRA starts the first of three phases of action in its dispute with the commissioner.

A refusal by gardaí to take voluntary overtime will begin next Tuesday and will continue over a further four Tuesdays, including Budget Day on October 10 and Halloween, both of them necessitating high levels of voluntary overtime.

The second phase will happen on November 6, where delegates will continue to work the existing roster instead of the re-introduced roster as directed. GRA leaders indicate that the general membership may follow the lead of their delegates.

The third phase, on November 10, will see a withdrawal of labour by the delegates. Again, GRA bosses expect the general membership may follow suit.

The letter sent to the Minister stated the commissioner was “refusing” to set aside his decision, which they call a “pre-condition”, to re-introduce the pre-covid roster on November 6. 

It said the commissioner has made a “number of public utterances” stating that there was no pre-condition to the forthcoming talks. It claimed this was "not accurate” and that the commissioner had told the association in writing that members will revert to the old roster on November 6.

The letter further claims that last Tuesday the commissioner said he would not compromise on removing the deadline. The letter said the mandate from the membership was “very clear” that this deadline was “a major inhibiting factor” in progressing the talks.

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“Accordingly, the association is calling on you to intervene at this juncture with a view to removing this barrier, ie 6 November 2023, from roster talks progressing,” it said.

Speaking at a Policing Authority meeting on Thursday, the commissioner said he was willing to compromise to reach an agreement on a new staff roster and that no pre-conditions to talks have been put down.

When asked about delaying the November 6 date, he said: “The rationale [behind the new roster] is around visibility and service delivery. As commissioner with responsibility for an efficient and effective policing service provided and being held to account for that, I can’t wait beyond November 6.” 

In response to queries from the Irish Examiner, the Policing Authority said it did not have a role “in the internal management of the Garda Siochana or in industrial relations matters”.

The authority said: “The Authority encourages all parties involved to utilise the State's industrial relations institutions to address and resolve these matters in the public interest."

The authority said it did engage in ongoing dialogue with the commissioner regarding "resource management and the efficient deployment of Garda resources" to ensure the effective delivery of policing services to the public.