Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
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:
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
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.
Tom Finnan says his colleagues came back from the meeting and said the army would be on the streets. #gardastrike#tipptoday
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”.
Advertisement
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.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
“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 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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
”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.
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?
Justice Minister to repeal State's counter-terrorism laws and replace Special Criminal Court
1 hr ago
980
The Morning Lead
Delay to plans to have pharmacies prescribe for UTIs, thrush, and coldsores in Ireland
Eimer McAuley
2 hrs ago
1.2k
Courts
Worker at Lough Derg who duped unsuspecting women into sexual assaults to be sentenced next week
17 hrs ago
40.6k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 197 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 137 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 177 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 139 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 101 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 102 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 47 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 43 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 161 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 73 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 96 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 102 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 45 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 60 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 29 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 112 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 115 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 63 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 107 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 90 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say