It’s more than a little ironic that we have the Garda Commissioner, The Minister for Justice and other politicians calling on the gardai to defer the forthcoming strike. They have been suggesting that the relationship between the gardai and the community will deteriorate if the strike goes ahead. They are concerned that the security of the State will be diminished and the lives of its citizens will be put at risk. They claim that it will be very difficult for them to provide a proper service to the public with the reduced resources that will be available to them in the event of a strike. They are concerned about the long term effect that this dispute will have on the State.
Has the penny finally dropped?
It’s wonderful to see this new found interest in the role of An Garda Siochana. It’s also wonderful that, at last, many of them have come to realise what it is like to run a police force with limited resources. It’s good too that they seem, for the first time in years, to be concerned about the long term future of An Garda Siochana as opposed to just looking as far as the next election or the next promotion list. They have been told this on a daily basis for years but have chosen to deny that there is an issue and it has taken this threat of strike action to bring it home.
Lay the blame where it belongs
Noirin O’Sullivan and Frances Fitzgerald are now making an attempt to intimidate and bully the members into calling off their proposed action. This dispute is about more than money, it’s about years of mismanagement bringing the Force to its knees. Change has to happen, starting with a Garda Commissioner who will lead from the front with a plausible vision for the future of policing in this country and one that will not dissolve into becoming yet another box-ticking exercise. If those in power want to start pointing the finger of blame at anyone, then maybe they should start looking a bit closer to home.