Equipment, rosters and lack of judges – unhappy gardaí to air all at conference

Many of the motions to be voted on relate to pay and conditions, rosters, pensions and training.

GRA president Brendan O’Connor is expected to tell delegates that the deterioration of morale is a huge ­issue among rank-and-file gardaí, who he says feel abandoned and exposed.

Last week Ms McEntee announced she will not attend the conference, which takes place in Co Mayo this week, because Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has not been invited.

That refusal to invite the commissioner came in the wake of the association’s unprecedented vote of no confidence in Mr Harris last year.

In September, some 98pc of respondents, more than 9,000 gardaí, in a GRA vote ticked the box that they had no confidence in Mr Harris.

Detective Garda Mark Ferris, who represents the GRA’s Dublin Metropolitan Region West Division, said in a statement: “The GRA learned with disappointment of the decision of Justice Minister Helen McEntee not to attend our annual conference, which we ­understand is an implied act of solidarity with embattled Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

“We want to clarify that the GRA’s own decision not to invite Commissioner Harris was not hostile in motivation but rather a way of drawing attention to our member’s concerns about the direction the force is heading.

“The GRA has a duty to represent the interests and promote the welfare of our members, and we will do so with all means at our disposal. The absence of the minister is regrettable and represents a missed opportunity to clear a space for constructive dialogue. Instead the minister had chosen to stand in solidarity with the commissioner who, it should be remembered, our members voted no confidence [in] overwhelmingly, some months ago.

“The GRA conference will go ahead with the usual high standard of contributions from members and invited guests.”

The theme of the conference, “It’s a job worth protecting”, is a spin on the force’s current recruitment slogan – “It’s a job worth doing”.

Among the motions to be discussed is a proposal from officers in the Kildare division to issue every garda with a personal protection helmet, to reintroduce public order training and to buy ­suitable public order footwear for officers involved in this type of policing.

This motion comes after last November’s Dublin riots, which Mr O’Connor is expected to describe as an incident in which gardaí “stood brave, firm and united” when it emerged that officers who urgently needed public order equipment to deal with the violent disorder in the city centre had to travel to Santry to get the necessary equipment.

The GRA will also debate a motion introduced by the DMR South Division calling for the introduction of a woollen hat for gardaí to be worn during bad weather – as well as the reintroduction of fleece jackets.

Also due to be debated at the ­conference is a motion calling for more judges to be put in place because of the backlog of cases in the criminal justice system.