Commissioner 'trampling over rights' of gardaí, says GRA

The president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) has criticized the Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly, for allegedly overstepping the rights of rank-and-file gardaí concerning overtime and days off. This comes as the gardaí plan a series of work-to-rule actions next month, coinciding with a significant European Union (EU) presidency event in Dublin on November 13.

The work-to-rule, set to run from November 10 to 14, includes the European Political Convention on November 12 and the informal meeting of EU heads of state or government on November 13.

GRA president Niall Hodgins accused the Commissioner and garda management of breaching the Working Time Agreement and the European Working Time Directive. He claimed that the rules, which ensure fairness for both sides, have been disregarded, particularly regarding shift patterns and working conditions for GRA members. Hodgins stated that the Commissioner's decision to label certain days, such as St Patrick's Day and Halloween as extraordinary events, leading to mandatory work, is a clear violation of the members' entitlements under the Working Time Agreement.

The work-to-rule motion, which targets all members in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) and those within a 100km radius of their points of duty in the DMR and Shannon regions, calls for members to report to their home stations and await transportation to their duty points. Hodgins emphasized that this issue is not solely about enforced overtime but involves multiple breaches of members' rights, including starting times, compensatory rest, and cancelled days off. One case cited involved multiple members having their days off canceled.

Hodgins urged the Commissioner to cease his actions that trample on the rights of GRA members. Meanwhile, Commissioner Kelly announced that overtime would be reduced shortly in response to GRA complaints. However, Kelly stated that this reduction would occur after the completion of upcoming major events.