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Updated 20.55
MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Frances Fitzgerald has expressed her ‘disappointment’ that the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has said it will strike with rank-and-file gardaí for four days next month.
At a special conference in Athlone today, delegates representing 31 branches of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking part in the four strike days planned next month.
“It is disappointing that the (AGSI) have announced their intention to take industrial action,” Fitzgerald said this evening.
This is particularly the case as they have not balloted their members on the taking of this action.
Indeed, it is just seven weeks since their membership voted to accept the Lansdowne Road Agreement by over 70%.
Fitzgerald said that an offer to meet representatives of the AGSI “remains open”.
“My focus and that of the Government is on negotiation,” she said.
I remain focused on finding a pathway to negotiate with AGSI in a way which is fair to their members, the taxpayer and other public sector workers. This must be within the parameters of the very real constraints on public sector pay.
“It would be most unfortunate if, rather than engaging further, action were to be contemplated that would not be in the best interests of our communities or of An Garda Síochána,” the minister added.
Earlier
This morning the AGSI announced its intention to strike alongside rank-and-file gardaí next month.
At a special conference in Athlone, delegates representing 31 branches of the association voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking part in the four strike days planned next month.
Last month, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) announced work stoppages on 4, 11, 18 and 25 November.
Prior to the four strike days, sergeants and inspectors will also stage two work-to-rule days on 21 and 28 October, when they will refuse to use the garda Pulse system.
Making the announcement of six days of industrial action, President of the AGSI Antoinette Cunningham said members had been left with “no other option”.
“We did not take this decision lightly, however, we feel we have no choice but to show Government how serious we are about restoring pay for our members. We also hope that senior Garda management will respect our decision to take this action.”
Cunningham disagreed with comments made by Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar suggesting the public will not support gardaí if they strike.
“Our members have been inundated with messages of support from people in our communities who have sympathy for the position we find ourselves in,” she said.
“Our 2,000 members speak to members of the public daily and we are always taking the temperature of public opinion.”
We care about what the public think because we work to serve them. We have been subjected to a campaign of media criticism by politicians whose time would be better served trying to solve these matters rather than splitting the gardaí and the public they serve.
Cunningham said her association is open to negotiations, but added they “need to see action” from the government.
AGSI tabled a 16.5% pay restoration claim with Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald two weeks ago and are requesting access to direct pay negotiation for future pay deals.
Contingency plan
Today, the GRA suggested members of the Emergency Response Unit and Regional Support Units report for normal rostered duty throughout the strike action.
“This will ensure a skeletal service to protect the security of the State, prevent and detect serious crime and preserve vital evidence,” the association said in a statement.
General Secretary Pat Ennis has also written to the Garda Commissioner to request details of contingency plans put in place “to minimise such risk from 07.00 hours for each 24-hour period where members are taking industrial action”.
“In the meantime, the association will be encouraging individual members to be receptive to skeletal cover in emergency and evidence gathering areas, and is mindful that on-going intelligence-led policing operations are not disrupted or adversely affected,” Ennis said today.
“The Central Executive Committee is respectfully asking members attached to the Technical Bureau rostered to work on 4,11,18 and 25 November to remain available on an on-call basis to respond to major crime incidents.”
Additional reporting Cianan Brennan
Originally published 16.23
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It never ceases to amaze me that a Church founded by the Son of God, based on Love, was represented and run by humans who showed so little love to vulnerable children and their vulnerable mothers.
@Neil Neart: true but then if there were no mother and baby homes run by the church then so many women in difficult situations and shunned by their own families would of had no where to go to at all.
@lorcmulv: tell that to the babies toss into septic tanks.
@lorcmulv: You appear to be ignoring the reasom why those girls and women were shunned.
@Felicity Hensen: it’s a chicken and egg story. Families offloaded their “odd” sons and daughters to hide the family shame. These sons and daughters became priests and nuns.
@lorcmulv: without the eviI distortion of human behaviour and the indoctrination by the Catholic Church there would be no need for such homes. Being an unmarried mother would hold no stigma. It’s only the inhumane brainwashing done by power greedy clergy that caused about 50% of all misery on this planet (if not more).
@lorcmulv: The morality of the times came from the Church. Terrified pregnant young girls, carrying tiny grandchildren, were shunned and rejected and treated as manifestations of mortal sin because the Church told society that that is what they were. A largely uneducated population, fearful of losing access to Heaven for eternal life with God believed the Church’s teachings on morality and shunned their own lovely daughters and grandchildren. Yet the Church still exists in spite of hundreds of years of shameful leadership, cover ups and abuse. Astonishing.
@lorcmulv: Starved, bullied and beaten? Many men and women couldn’t get their child back from such institutions although they had worked hard to be in a position to support them. Those places took the children on for the support money. I’m sure inspectors didn’t witness the half of the needless cruelty and hunger, and they were well paid while the children had to manage with as little as possible.
That was heartbreaking to read, especially the part about Monique’s father looking for her – evening going to her school – and being willing to look after her when she was born. It was lovely that he spoke about her openly to his own family and didn’t treat her like a shameful secret. He sounded like a wonderful man. What a tragedy they never met.
@FrustratedASDMum: Yes, wasn’t it? I’m so glad that she found her sister, and that at least went well for her. So many official obstacles and lies to get beyond. I’m so sorry for her painful losses and well done to her for persisting. I hope better disclosure is possible for others who were adopted under a different name. DNA kits are reuniting so many people in our lifetimes. Wishing her and her handsome family all the best in the future.
The State and Churches have so much answer for none are innocent. Especially the Churches in every way.
@Mick McGuinness: and society as a whole
It’s the same for donor-conceived people. So many records destroyed, so many people looking for these parts of their family, so many having doors shut in their faces. It’s awful. We have a lot in common with adoptees yet legislation is still not properly child centred nor retroactive as it has been for adoption.
A lot of girls were r.a.p.e.d by family, or people in higher power. Hitting the toxic red now. A few full stops madness.
I think nowadays it’s easier to find Family. Just do a DNA test and some relatives are bound to pop up, then you can ask them to put you in touch with others in the Family or at least let them know you’re looking for them. Ancestry have special offers on around St. Patrick’s day as well as other times and it’s not too expensive anyway.
@Margaret Doyle: Christmas sales on DNA kits at the moment!
4th paragraph: “… some 56,000 femaIes and 57,000 children …”
Seriously? FemaIes? How about calling us “women”? Because that’s what we are. ls this the new PC regime? Men are caIIed men, but women are caIled femaIes?
Apart from that, it’s mind boggIing that in this country the cathoIic church stiII is aIIowed to have anything to do with vuInerable peopIe such as chiIdren or sick or eIderly. The government needs 2 start protecting its peopIe from the greedy cIaws of that criminaI sect.
Sorry for the odd way of spelling. Toxicology filter etc.
@Babs Ruch: you can hardly call 12 and 13 year old girls “women “
The reality is that most Irish adoptees get very little information over the course of their lives and the religious orders are notoriously tight lipped. The few reunions seen in the media from time to time are often called reunion porn by activists as they don’t reflect the reality for most adoptees.
I don’t know what in that story that in anyway is critical of the religious orders, and yet the author finds it understandable that people would hate them? The adoption system was/is run by the state under formal laws which they were only abiding by and, as unmentioned here, the truth is that many of these children would have been aborted if it wasn’t for the help they got from these Orders?
Its fascinating as well the story of the father trying to hold onto the child, in Ireland as well fathers have absolutely no rights in this regard, but plenty of responsibilities!
Anyway just to reply to a commentator above, there was no corpses thrown into septic tanks, you can read about all that here if you like: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/108089 .
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