The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr McDowell, will come under pressure today on pay and benchmarking at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), which starts in Galway this evening.
The AGSI claims its members have not been treated as fairly as more senior members of the force under the benchmarking system. It believes the 6 per cent rise allocated to its members under benchmarking is not sufficient reward for the increased workload now facing sergeants and inspectors around the country. It is particularly aggrieved that some senior officers were given 16 per cent pay rises under benchmarking, even though many senior gardaí have not been burdened with extra work.
The AGSI president, Mr Joe Dirwan, will open the conference tonight with a keynote address, most of which will be directly aimed at Mr McDowell. As well as benchmarking, he is also expected to raise the issues of electronic tagging for some offenders, manpower problems in Limerick and other cities and drink-related crime. The AGSI maintains the State's more lenient licensing laws have been a failure.
On Saturday, Mr McDowell gave his strongest indication yet that he is ready to act to curb binge drinking, particularly among young people. At the Progressive Democrats' annual conference in Galway, he criticised the drink industry's "get pissed and get laid" brand of advertising.
He also said he was concerned at increased levels of drink-related crime. However, he gave no indication he would force pubs to close earlier.
The association's general secretary, Mr George Maybury, will address the conference tomorrow when the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, will also address delegates.
