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MORE THAN 150 garda delegates will be coming together this week to discuss the issues and priorities for the rank and file officer in the year ahead.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) annual delegate conference begins tomorrow at the Mount Wolseley Hotel in Tullow, Co Carlow. This year’s conference is likely to be somewhat less controversial than previous years, as the force now tries to move on from scandals with a new Garda Commissioner and Minister for Justice.
However there are still a number of motions on the agenda that will have eyebrows raised.
The first issues on the agenda for the conference are calls for a reversal of wage cuts under the public pay agreements.
Interestingly, delegates will also be voting on a motion that calls for the re-instatement of the Uzi submachine gun. The gun was withdrawn from detective units in March 2012 after a review by garda authorities. It was replaced with Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun.
Training is big on the agenda this year, and delegates from Cork and Wicklow are calling for frontline members to be immediately trained in the use of the taser. This is something that has been raised at previous garda conferences in recent years but management has never given any indication that they are considering it.
As An Garda Síochána works to repair its reputation in society, a big focus for the GRA is restoring morale among its more than 10,000 members. Speaking ahead of the conference, the association’s president Dermot O’Brien said that although the people who were in charge during the controversies have been “almost entirely replaced”, the men and women on the ground still face criticisms from the public.
“While the public appreciate and distinguish that the frontline garda is not responsible, the corporate image has been damaged and our members are on the receiving end of negative commentary directed at the organisation,” he said.
O’Brien said he now sees an opportunity whereby the separation of An Garda Síochána from direct political control would allow the Garda Commissioner greater manoeuvrability and freedom of speech.
“In other jurisdictions we see police leadership is able to be transparent and honest about the impact of resourcing, legislation and the impact of political decisions upon their operational capability.”
We’ll be reporting from this year’s GRA Annual Delegate Conference in Tullow, over the next three days so keep an eye out and follow @michellehtweet for updates throughout the day.
The Uzi is not a suitable weapon for policing, it is about as accurate as throwing darts blindfolded!
Mp5 in better. Think the ranger wing use them
Why would you want to go back to using Uzi’s when the HK MP7 that they already use is a far superior weapon? Next they will be looking for a return of. 303 riles and flintlock muskets.
You took the words right out of my mouth…
There would already be people trained in the Uzi, the MP7 would require a whole new course and purchase of equipment. I’m guessing the Uzi’s are still avatars in storage.
“the MP7 would require a whole new course and purchase of equipment.”
No it would not, anyone with a modicum of a brain would pick it up in 20 minutes.
The preferred weapon of the Neanderthal was the stone!
Why do they want submachine guns in the first place?
John, Picking it up and shooting it is quick. Learning about the workings of the gun, how to strip it, clean it, put it back together, deal with faults take training.
@littlejim… when the time comes of an isis attack in Ireland, you’ll understand why they need machine guns !
The Uzi 9mm… or Phase plasma rifle in 40-watt range ?
Water protestors…
Cholly
When they come armed to take your freedom you will know why the need machine guns.
A blind dog can hit a target at 35m with a H&K MP that’s why every cop & anti terrorist unit uses them as standard issue
Greg,
It still doesn’t take a long time to be upgraded. I was taught first on the 7.62 SLR which did take some time.bOver the next 17 years I learnt to handle another 9 weapons none of which took more than half a day to be trained up on. Some only a couple of hours.
It’s not a huge or costly job to retrain.
The water protesters are not that bad that they will have to shoot them. ????
Typical GRA obsessed with an obsolete, unsuitable weapon because they like it or it makes them feel better.
The UZI is inaccurate, difficult to control and really not what you want to use in an urban policing environment
The reason they’re asking for the Uzi to be reinstated as a backup issue firearm is because all the Detectives are trained in its use. Armed Gardai would much prefer the issue of the HK Mp7 (or Mp5 even!) but the simple fact of the matter is its probably cheaper, and therefore more likely, to reinstate the antiquated and inacurate Uzi and worry bout any possible legal action, than the costly expense of training the whole armed section of the force!
Their primary role is protection of Orish citizens the use of a highly inaccurate weapon in an urban setting & the risks posed to innocent bystanders does not for in with that role.
@wayne, when’s the last time you’ve ever heard of the gardai using the uzi. I can tell you one time they should have had it but it was taken away, the murder of Adrian O Donoghue, detectives on armed escorts used to carry the uzi. Would of come in handy to blast the vermin in that armed raid
Garda brutality needs to be on the agenda wrongful arrests & political policing & the resources been wasted on IW.
Isn’t it strange that they don’t waste resources around the rest of the country when people protest in a peaceful manner and all the Gardai have to do is direct traffic. It’s just a small few yobs in Dublin that seem to take up valuable time and resources with their “peaceful” protests.
BTW if you want to see political policing in action I suggest you go to Bahrain or China and try protesting there and see how long you last.
What an assinine post no1. You obviously haven’t seen the videos from Letterkenny, Carlow, Caherciveen etc etc of ‘country yobs taking up resources’.
This page is obviously loaded with members this morning, so I won’t take it seriously.
What’s happening both to the rule of law and order and the civil rights of its people under FG is frightening. And the men and women of An Garda Siochana are pawns in it, whether they realise it or not.
BTW, If you have to lower your sights for comparison to Bahrain and China, you’ve obviously a low opinion of policing here.
Gerry, far from lowering my sights , I mentioned Bahrain and China because that is where real political policing happens. There they tear gas, viciously beat and sometimes shoot people, lock them up without trial and torture them in jail. They don’t stand around and try to negotiate with people, advise them of the alleged offence that they are committing and give them a chance to behave in a civil manner. You call my post “asinine” yet fail to see that I mentioned those 2 countries policing in contrast to the high standard that the Irish police employ in putting up with the same mob day in and day out.
If the small mob of IW protesters tried the same crap in other countries they would have been hoovered up and disappeared in hours. Instead they fall down at the slightest touch that would put a professional footballer to shame. They call ambulances to supposed injuries thereby diverting them from real emergencies, they tie up police time in cracking down on drug dealers, thieves, burglars and so on. They also do an injustice to the hundreds of thousands of people who also protest but can behave like decent people.
You need help go and take a few Valium with that gin and tonic.
Just to let you all know before the Uzi they had the Thompson Sub Machine gun and I never , in the history of the State, read or heard anywhere of any Garda or Gardai running amok with any of these weapons and killing anyone apart from the isolated use in a conflict situation.
The Uzi is an old Israeli design intended to spray bullets indiscriminately in a close quarter hostile environment devoid of friendlies. It’s like a semi directed grenade never intended for civilian policing. A sawn off shotgun would be more suitable! Reflects poorly on the Garda representatives that they would consider it let alone requests it.
Garda with Tazers
YouTube will be full of water protesters getting shocked
well either that or an Uzi
that will clear a crowd from around a hole
Uzi = spray and pray
Boggers with guns will make our great nation safe
Not with Uzi’s they wont.
Yes just as the dubs with guns are making a great job of it now
Rhetoric Jason. Self serving and useless
Are we seeing incremental steps towards the militirization of our police force, is this what the EU wants?
It starts small. Little things that people dont notice or care about.
Well said Chris.
Is this to “protect” us from all the fabricated terrorist attacks? It sounds more like a police state in the making to go along with the fascist EU dictatorship.
Seeing as the gangsters are arming themselves with semi automatic weapons it’s only fair our police force has the means to fight back. No point in having a force that can’t protect itself against these people.
Chris give it a rest…the likes of yourself would be happy to see nobody including police and army unarmed while gangsters run riot. Happy hunting
Its just worth keeping an eye on these things and know when to say enough is enough. But they do need to be armed of course, there is a limit though.
That’s what our scandal-ridden, under paid, about to take strike action police force need – access to more automatic weapons. What’s the worst that could happen? #YouThoughFergusonWasBad
so, would you like to give chase to a gang land criminal unarmed? Its a very limited number of the force that have access to fire arms anyway.
Eh, this isn’t Twitter….
It would be better for them to develop a social conscience and not become the states battering ram, still they could look for new uniforms, I hear that Hugo Boss have a few old designs that they’re not using!
Social conscience? They’re a police force, not social services.
@philip, protests happen everyday in the capital, massive water protests happen probably once a month and 99% go peacefully and have a great relationship with the gardai. It’s the smaller fringe groups that just have an anti garda anti establishment republican element that cause all the trouble. I’ll let you in on a secret, the vast majority of the population don’t support these fringe groups and have become something of an embarrassment.
They can barely understand how a taser works . Imagine setting them free with the Uzi in hand again
They should be given .22lr pistols. Given their recent attempts to ban them, the .22lr must be fairly lethal.
Machine guns?
Positive step towards Policing as opposed to out-dated ‘Guarding’.
Bring it on.
Sorry but get them them decent kit, like H&K MP’s or G series and or similar.
All stations should have armed specialists in this day and age but the UZI is too unpredictable. Only Chuck Norris can use one and hit only the bad guys in a single burst!
As for the rest a well paid police force, ambulance & fire service spends its time doing its job well instead of worrying about the mortgage.
First responders should be looked after and cherished.
Seriously? Giving the average Garda a weapon is a very very very bad idea. And do they not get extra pay from Denis O’Brien or Enda for being price security and political henchmen? I can’t believe any of the would be doing it for free.
Robby Rottenest they’re a police force of many faces, to some they’re police ” by appointment”, to others they’re the government’s alarm clock.
Give Padraig Nally a machine gun while yer at it
They want to take hand guns away from lienced owers and arm themselves to the teeth. A bit rich i think of the Garda
A nice earner for Israel!
See they want to go backwards to the old ways of policing. Uzi’s are old news and terrible at hitting there target. Why o why can this country not in brace change. Same shite another day
‘There’ is not the same as ‘their’ and ‘in brace’ is not the same as ‘embrace’. A sentence containing a question should end with a question mark.
well if Detective Garda Adrian Donoho, had a Uzi instead of a pea shooter 9mm,I’m sure there would have been a better come, as its says on the box,…………… you cant lose with a Uzi
Tazers and automatic weapons! The black community won’t be too happy to hear that
have your say