Garda reserve row set to escalate
The confrontation over the proposed Garda reserve is set to escalate today, as middle-ranking gardaí vote on a policy of non-co-operation.
Although Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has warned the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) that they will be breaking the law if they opt out, the policy is likely to be approved by an overwhelming majority of delegates.
The association, which has around 2,000 members, has laid down three separate motions on the reserve, which will be voted on today.
The most strongly worded motion directs the AGSI’s national executive to inform Mr McDowell and Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy that members will not operate with the introduction of a Garda reserve.
Another calls on Mr McDowell to withdraw his “reckless proposal” and thereby remove the prospect of the creation of a “poorly trained, sub-standard second police force in Ireland“.
There are 56 motions in total on the programme for the conference, with the subjects ranging from firearms training to the new Garda uniform.
