Government urged to alleviate 'pressure' on Garda superintendents
Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan was told that 'geographical areas can be challenging to manage. And local leadership structures are under pressure'. File picture
Frontline Garda managers want the Government to address the “significant pressures” they are under because of inadequate resources, absent legal protections, and unsustainable workloads.
The Association of Garda Superintendents (AGS) said its members are increasingly being required to “double-job”.
At their annual conference in Trim, Co Meath, AGS president Detective Superintendent Colm Murphy, said the responsibilities of superintendents are “expanding” and the geographical areas they manage are growing under national restructuring of regions.
Addressing justice minister Jim O’Callaghan, Det Supt Murphy said concerns he raised last year about losing the crucial link with local communities — due in part to the restructuring of garda functions and expansion of divisions — “sadly remain”.
“Superintendents are increasingly being required to double-job,” Det Supt Murphy told the minister.
“Responsibilities are expanding. Geographical areas can be challenging to manage. And local leadership structures are under pressure.”
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Det Supt Murphy said the impact is not just confined to his members.
“It affects our inspectors and sergeants. It affects our gardaí and garda staff. And ultimately, it affects the communities we serve," he said.
The AGS president said roads policing continues to highlight structural challenges within the current model.
He said superintendents want reform that strengthens the relationship between gardaí and the communities they serve.
“In my address last year, I spoke about the concern that our members were losing important links with local communities and with the personnel they lead," he told delegates. "Sadly, that concern remains. And it requires attention.”
Det Supt Murphy told the minister that superintendents are not looking for less responsibility or less accountability.
“Quite the opposite,” he said. “We are saying that if we are to continue to lead effectively, then we need the resources, protections and working conditions necessary to meet those responsibilities.”
He said there are supposed to be 191 superintendents but the current number stands at 168.
“Twenty-three positions may appear relatively small when considered against the overall size of An Garda Síochána. Operationally, however, those 23 positions are hugely significant,” the AGS president said.
“They mean additional leadership capacity. They mean greater resilience. They mean better cover. They mean greater capacity to respond to major events and unexpected demands. And they mean reducing the pressure currently being carried by existing superintendents.
"We cannot continue to increase the responsibilities placed upon the superintendent rank.”
Det Supt Murphy said leadership cannot be sustained indefinitely by asking the same people to do more with less: "Minister, the superintendent rank is under significant pressure. Superintendents are operational leaders.
“We manage critical incidents. We oversee investigations. We manage public order operations. We respond to protests, sporting events, concerts, and major national occasions. We deal with serious crime. We manage significant numbers of personnel.
"We represent An Garda Síochána within our communities and, increasingly, on national and international assignments. And we do all of this while delivering organisational change.”
He said the reality is that many superintendents “are now working significantly beyond” their hours.
“The working day does not necessarily finish when they are due to finish,” Det Supt Murphy said.
“The telephone continues to ring. The incident continues to develop. The decision still has to be made. And ultimately, responsibility still rests with the superintendent.”
He also called for “comprehensive legal indemnity and legal expenses protections” for superintendents.
“Every day, superintendents make decisions which carry significant consequences,” Det Supt Murphy said.
“We make decisions in real time. We often make those decisions with incomplete information. We make them under pressure.
“And we make them knowing that those decisions may subsequently be scrutinised. That is the nature of policing leadership.
"But a superintendent should never have to approach an operational decision wondering whether, if that decision is challenged, they will have adequate legal protection. We are not asking for special treatment.
“We are asking for appropriate professional protection for people who are carrying significant responsibilities on behalf of the State.”
He called on the minister to ensure that his association is “directly and meaningfully” included in future national pay talks, particularly where the terms, conditions, and welfare of his members are concerned.
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