CONFERENCE REPORT MAY 2007

Foreword

It is my pleasure to present this Annual Report to Conference, which details the work in progress of the Central Executive Committee and the development of the areas requiring the Association’s attention.

The issue of pay continues to dominate and is particularly demanding; the modernisation agenda, together with Towards 2016, requires a hands-on approach. The general membership might not necessarily appreciate that the Association is involved at every level in the pay modernisation agenda. To that end the Garda Representative Association is extremely busy in ensuring that the requirements are delivered in an acceptable and progressive way that does not impinge on the rights or conditions of service of members of our rank.

There is a fine balance to be struck in the negotiations of the issues of the pay agenda and while the members might only see the end result in the payment of the various awards, the work to secure these awards cannot be under-estimated. The next payment due under Towards 2016, is 1 June 2007 and meetings will have taken place prior to Conference for the purposes of advancing our position at the pay verification board.

I am confident that our approach to partnership and our commitment under the modernisation agenda will meet expectations and there should be no reason why the payment on 1 June should be delayed.

Since our last Conference the Garda Reserve has become a reality; but as pointed out in this report – a reality of sorts. Our campaign, while not successful in preventing the Government from introducing legislation, nevertheless, brought a number of serious issues to the forefront. Those issues have culminated in some success with the whole question of resourcing, the procurement of anti stab and anti ballistic vests, the Garda Síochána fleet and undoubtedly the vexed question which continues to cause us concern: accommodation.

We can take comfort from the fact that the citizens of this country understand our position on the Garda Reserve, and have grasped the ideological position of it being negative for policing. In my view, it has become an administrative nightmare proven by the failure of its roll-out. Significantly, we take heart from John O’Connor, formerly of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, who attended our Conference last year and said that in his experience reserves never played a significant part in policing in the UK. I believe the number of reserves will continue to diminish and the Association should be on record stating that it is not the success as propagated by the Minister and others.

The Garda Síochána continues to feel the fallout from the Morris Tribunal and we to provide representation for members who are appearing at that Tribunal. We give them every advice and assistance. We are hopeful that the Morris Tribunal will soon be winding-up and that we can concentrate on the issues of policing and play a significant part in bringing to fruition to some of the proposals that will undoubtedly create a better, more open and transparent policing environment. The Association should not be afraid to recognise that past mistakes are not something that we should ignore. We should never try to defend an indefensible position, but nevertheless we have to be realistic in the context of the numbers of members whom we represent who find themselves every day facing difficult and challenging decisions and continue to provide a first class policing service. To put this in context, I was recently listening to a speaker on the Liveline programme who praised the emergency services, particularly the Garda Síochána. It was noteworthy that everytime he praised An Garda Siochana and said he was extremely proud of the men and women of the Force, it was not commented on by Mr Duffy. This is hardly surprising. Members of the public continue to have confidence in the Garda Síochána and we should embrace that and be proud of the traditions of the Force.

To that extent the staff associations have a significant role to play and we must engage and participate in all of the working groups set up. We must also continue to highlight issues of welfare, health and safety, equipment, resources etc. as a matter of course in all our deliberations.

This is the challenge facing all of us. This is the roadmap that we have to set for ourselves and in the greater scheme of representative matters this is something that the Association must engage in and be seen to be successful. We have appointed a new PR Consultant, Mr Ken Curran. No doubt, he will bring a new ethos and energy to that role. He will advise us on all issues pertinent to comment on and we will adopt a proactive approach in relation to the management of our own media affairs.

We should not become indulgent on issues that continue to generate negative publicity. We should not necessarily try to absolve ourselves from our failures but, nevertheless, we should always look forward with some degree of optimism in that there are issues which we can deliver upon and where we have the capacity to get right results. Invariably, if we are not successful then we have to accept that in the greater scheme of things everything we seek and everything that we want is not always attainable. This should not be measured as negativity but measured in the context of our efforts and our enthusiasm to try and bring about change and to be progressive in our endeavours.

I believe that the Association has much to look forward to. I believe the men and women of An Garda Síochána continue to provide a vital, necessary and absolutely first class service.

We have the privilege of serving their needs to ensure that we continue to provide for them a first class representative association. I am proud to say that the people who present themselves and continue to deal with representative issues in their own time and at great cost to themselves and their families deserve our gratitude and thanks.

I am mindful in this foreword that we have recently had issues with the media and the invasion of the privacy of members of An Garda Síochána at a time of great personal grief. I acknowledge that the various newspaper articles were big enough to apologise as a result of public outcry and the sheer volume of disgust that was evident from the general public.

The media clearly do not have widespread support for bashing the Garda Síochána and continuing to use every mechanism to embarrass and denigrate. It was a salutary lesson for the media, one which of course they will not take kindly to. Even in the sadness of the situation for the families concerned I think they can take comfort that the Irish people continue to give us their support and to align themselves with the Garda Síochána in the onerous mission that we have to face as members of the Force. Let us continue to be conscious of that.

Finally, to bring you the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower: “The best morale exists when you never hear the word mentioned”.

I commend this report to Conference.

P.J. Stone

General Secretary