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IT CAME DOWN to the wire with the garda pay dispute last night, with the decision made late in the game by both representative associations to defer their action and ballot members.
While the general executive of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) displayed a united front, the top table of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) was split in its decision with a 20-17 vote result.
The split vote followed a row among the central executive committee over a request that gardaí on a number of units report for duty on the strike day today. The officer board - the top GRA honchos - met with garda management yesterday morning and, before consulting its CEC, agreed to the list of units and issued a press release to the media:
A fierce row erupted at their scheduled meeting at 2pm and the committee were told garda management had said the Minister for Justice would have to “declare martial law” in the country.
According to a source, they were “told there was an immediate and viable threat to the security of the State”.
This forced the officer board to bypass the democratic will of the CEC and by extension 96% of the membership.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland this morning, the GRA president Ciaran O’Neill would not be drawn to give specifics of the meeting with garda management. However, he did say they had expressed “certain fears in respect of the security of the State”.
Tipperary representative Tom Finnan, however, did confirm to Tipp FM that martial law was mentioned in the meeting.
Detective Chief Superintendent Michael O’Sullivan sought to clarify the situation on RTÉ radio this morning, stating the first mention he heard of martial law was “in the headlines”.
He stressed it had, at no stage, appeared in the garda contingency plan for today.
“”It never ever appeared. There was no need to put the army on the streets. We have a perfectly good contingency plan and there was no need for it”.
Though he said it was neither needed nor included in plans, he did not state whether garda management had never discussed the possibility with the GRA’s officer board.
Similarly, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said martial law had never been part of the plan – though he did not have any representative at the meeting between garda management and the GRA.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin earlier, he said:
I met with the Minister for Justice, and the Garda Commissioner and senior garda management and the Minister for Public Expenditure on Monday and, while contingency arrangements are a matter for the Commissioner in the context of the day-to-day running of the gardaí, I can assure you and confirm to you martial law that the question of martial law, ie the army being on the streets of this country, was never contemplated and never raised.
Though there are no specific provisions in Irish law covering martial law, there is nothing to stop a government from asking the Defence Forces to provide a policing service.
Assistant professor at law in Trinity College David Kenny told TheJournal.ie:
“There has long been a conventional arrangement where the defence forces assist with law enforcement, which is known as “aid to the civil power”. Most commonly in Ireland, this has been for guarding the transit of money, prison security, sensitive prisoners transfer, protection for state visits etc.
“The courts have commented in passing that the Defence Forces providing such aid is an acceptable arrangement and to be expected. However, this has always been supplementing – not supplanting – the role of the gardaí. Using the defence forces as primary law enforcement – rather than backing and aiding civilian authorities in particular instances – would be something else.”
He added that since the Constitution is silent on the question of policing, “there is some vagueness about the division between civilian and military powers”.
I am not aware of any statutory provision that either enables or specifically prevents use of the defence forces as primary civilian law enforcement, and it would be difficult to say what the legal status of such an action would be. However, it would greatly exceed the long-held convention about the limits of using the defence forces for civilian law enforcement.
Whatever happened at that meeting yesterday morning, it caused badly-timed tension between members of the association’s top table, which has created serious uncertainty about how their members on the ground will vote.
They are expected to be balloted as soon as next week, though results are unlikely before the next planned strike day.
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Sounds familiar, any one remember enda and the atm machines.
He is good at a yarn
“we had a good contingency plan in place…” Are you having a laugh?
“A fierce row erupted at their scheduled meeting at 2pm and the committee were told garda management had said the Minister for Justice would have to “declare martial law” in the country.”
If they could find her. Fitzgeralds, and the government in generals, response and lack of communication during this calamity has been abysmal.
Nobody I know in the army was given a warning order. Im told it was business as usual all week, in previous deployments such as during those old bus strikes, they were on standby from an early stage.
Martial law requires a vote by the Dáil as per the constitution, good luck getting that through given the current lot in there.
@John Bennett: Dictator Higgins, scary thought and we all forced to listen to his poems at 6pm every night.
A military coup is what’s needed
Yeah that always goes well!
@Upowthat Burke:
Which military?
Martial law is a last ditch option open to every state.
Nobody knew how things would go if the strike went ahead but it is unlikely to have descended into chaos in 24 hours as the Gardai would catch up with you the next day for many things that are reported after the crime takes place anyway.
However, in the event of a lengthy or escalated dispute where civil disorder and social unrest were to break out, then the army would be deployed.
ML is always on the options list, it’s also always at the end of the list.
Sure wouldn’t it be something to talk about! Sure we have to think of the “Reeling in the years” footage for a few years time!!
@ abouttheyhings. Sad you think it’s so funny.
Jaysus, your great craic altogether….
@von: Get out more, breathe some air and mingle with mankind would you.
It mightn’t bode well for the unpopular Kenny regime to have a disgruntled military cross the Rubicon.
Enda would become supreme commander in the event of martial law or would the chief of staff of Oglaigh na hEireann assume power? If its the Chief of Staff could he authorise all politicians to be held in the Curragh until we get a new set of honest ones to replace them? Dont knock martial law until you try it.
@Joseph Caulfield:
Set of honest politicians? Good luck with that
What did we do to get such incompetent, self-serving bunch of clowns in government? I thought that the government were the servants of the people and not the lackeys of bankers and developers
The Blueshirts would only love to invoke martial law. It’s inherent in their Fascist genes!
Mention of Martial Law? Well now that would be some sort of a statement that Inda might make, isn’t he prone to mouthfuls like that.
Threatening to cut the Garda pensions would get them back to work before any imposition of martial law!
You could understand it in the event of a lengthy strike.
If there was no one policing the state would you trust the populace to regulate themselves? No. me neither.
GRA blinked as promotions were on the line and they obviously were split by cute senior Gardai spreading domesday senarios . Anyway 23,000 was not near accurate income 4,000 now 4500 cash free rent money and a slew of allowances- typical gullible D4 media misreporting
There was De Facto Martial Law in the 80′s with checkpoints at every city and town entrance.
I do nit believe Enda Kenny, thats for sure.
“Similarly, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said martial law had never been part of the plan ”
Was his lips moving when he said this? Who in this country believes anything that Enda “seismic shift” says now days…..
And ye think trump is a nut job….
What even is martial law?
@Gagsy 99: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law
@Gagsy 99: Ask yer Da.
Basically the Defence Forces would take over the policing of the state.
But would it have prevented The Purge?
And all the red thumbs are a bit mean.
I was only asking like.
Defence forces take charge and all the political gang get first class flights to neutral country preferably Switzerland and get put up in 5 star hotels with there family’s and go onto a higher expenses level at the end of the night switch on RTE 1 for the latest or Vincent Brown. Sorry got carried away
Gagsy, never bother about red thumbs on here …best to ignore
@Suzie Sunshine:
They cut me to the core.
@Gagsy 99: Why? At least it means they are reading your comment!
Was your own tweet really the only source you could find to show the units that were asked to work today before the strike was called off?
@ Tim Brennan. You sound soo jealous.
Jealous !! well like most of the country i pay tax on all my income and I’m just asking for those in the public service to be honest in declaring theirs including overtime – the Gardai retire at 50 plus and get a healthy pay off for difficult work yes but you enter with free will or pull!!
Would you look at Ireland would ya… FF and FG have totally f%%_#$ed her up. their are many an old timer past and present crying because of the state of this country.
When did we become a country of scared little sheep.
When did the Irish except that FF/FG was the best this country could do.
Their are broken backs and scared palms along with skin rougher than leather begging the people of this country to stand up and save it.
We use to be a proud nation. Now we are a bought nation scared of or own shadows.
Be proud of ourselves for nothing.
When they talk about the fighting Irish abroad trust me they are not talking about this generation at all.
@James O Driscoll: Your spelling is shocking James, but I agree with you
Two martial laws in each hand, in fact.
”According to a source, they were “told there was an immediate and viable threat to the security of the State”.
This forced the officer board to bypass the democratic will of the CEC and by extension 96% of the membership.” they lied to us. We fell for the old ISIS are coming to get Newgrange and blow it up.
Good job B-Bertie wasn’t in power, or he’d probably have tried to impose marital law.
Essentially boys with machine guns walking around the streets.
Always leads to bloody murder.
Martial law? Are we running f#@king amuck here. I do not need the government for protection. I protect myself
Army don’t transport or protect banks money movement anymore. Banks refused to pay true cost if providing this service.
The army is what Dublin needs
Scabs
@RR85: Politicians?
The viable threat to the the State became a reality in Sept 2008 & FF were the 5th column that perpetrated it.
Hates off to garda management. They sold the gra some magic beans. Bigger fools for believing that
Kinda confused here, who told the government that there was a “serious, viable threat to the security of the state” so they could tell the guards that there was one. Do we have a secret service MI5 style lurking in the shadows?
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