The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has refused a request by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to engage in dialogue about the ongoing issue of Garda rosters.
The decision follows a meeting this week between four Garda associations, including the GRA, and Harris, as they discussed the conditions under which talks could be fostered. The GRA, however, said it would only engage with the Garda’s internal resolutions process if Harris agreed not to introduce the highly controversial “Westmanstown Roster.”
The ongoing source of conflict within the force centres around Commissioner Harris’ decision to return Garda rosters to pre-Covid arrangements. The GRA says this will have a variety of negative effects, such as having 20% less officers working at a time, and impacting negatively on many officers’ work-life balance. As a result, the matter has led to substantial tension between rank and file Gardaí and the organisation’s top brass for many months.
Notably, in 2019, a private internal Garda report found that the roster was “not fit for purpose.”
However, Garda top brass say that the current temporary Covid-19 roster cannot continue, as it is not suitable for the current policing needs. As a result, as it stands, this contentious roster will be implemented from the 6th of November.
However, the GRA’s Central Executive Committee has said it will only agree to talks with the Commissioner under the Gardaí’s internal processes if the Commissioner agreed to revoke the new roster system, which Harris said he was not willing to do.
The development comes after earlier this month members of the GRA voted “no confidence” in Harris almost unanimously. 98.7% voted against the Commissioner, with just 1.3% in favour.
“Whatever the vote is, I’m not leaving”: Members of the Garda Representative Association have voted “no confidence” in Commissioner Drew Harris by an overwhelming 98.7% – though he already said that he would not resign regardless of the result.#gripthttps://t.co/PqjatZUZL1
— gript (@griptmedia) September 13, 2023