Cootehill Garda seeks presidency of GRA

A Cootehill garda fighting for pay restoration is running for the Garda Representatives’ Association (GRA) presidency and will find out if he is successful later this month, writes Paul Neilan.

Garda James Morrisroe is running for president of the rank and file organisation, the GRA, and has put his name forward for the association’s April 26 annual conference.
The Sligo native, who has been stationed in Cootehill for 13 years, has been the Cavan-Monaghan representative for two years and says the removal of a two-tier pay structure in the force is a priority as new recruits struggle to get by.
“The priority, especially in relation to the new recruits because in and around €23,000 starting off is a pittance - it’s not even the living wage,” says the father of three.
“After that, it is to restore our pay to pre-recession levels,” which are down by up to 20%.

Resources down 22% in Cavan-Monaghan
“Resources are a huge issue - we’re 22% down in Cavan-Monaghan and that is replicated country-wide, but it is a problem especially in the border region, as has been highlighted previously.”
Recent media reports claimed that three gardaí left the force upon graduation citing the starting €23K as being impossible to survive on.
However, the counter-argument has been put that the new recruits knew the pay when they first applied for the job.
Commenting on the situation, Gda Morrisroe said that he has already spoken to one member forced to quit. “If your life’s ambition is to join the guards and you do the training and then come out, reality bites - you might be married, you might have kids - the right decision has to be made by your family or do you continue in your vocation not making enough money to survive and provide?
“It is up to us as the Garda Representation Association to right that wrong because it is wrong. [Head of the Workplace Relations Commission] Kieran Mulvey recently said on the Claire Byrne Show that it was definitely too low and had to be looked at,” he remarked.
Twenty years in the job, Gda Morrisroe was nominated by three divisions, including his own, and will find out if he is successful at the Kerry conference where he will face a sole opposing candidate from Dublin.

'Breaking links’ with the community
On the district representatives body since 2009, Gda Morrisroe has long been critical of the closures of rural Garda stations.
“It’s breaking links with the community, it’s a retrograde step and this has been admitted as much by the outgoing government who responded at the 11th hour to huge public pressure by setting up specialist operations, to much fanfare, in response to spiralling rural crime.
“This type of policing should be the norm and should be proactive as opposed to reactive. It’s simply down to a lack of manpower and resources. The public deserve a properly resourced and a properly trained police force to meet these challenges head on.”
Gda Morrisroe will find out if he is successful at the conference in Killarney on April 26.