Gardai react with anger to Justice Minister's decision to snub annual conference

Rank and file gardaí yesterday reacted furiously to the decision of Justice Minister Helen McEntee to snub their annual conference.

The minister declined to attend next week’s conference of the 11,000-strong Garda Representative Association after it refused to invite Garda Commissioner Drew Harris – but the body has slammed her move.

“This decision has the potential to blur the lines of separation in the eyes of our members and indeed the public we serve,” the leadership of the GRA said yesterday.

READ MORE - Helen McEntee won't attend Garda conference after Commissioner snub

President Brendan O’Connor and General Secretary Ronan Slevin issued a joint statement after Ms McEntee confirmed she would not be attending the conference, to be held in Westport, Co Mayo next week.

Ms McEntee said she asked the GRA to reconsider its snubbing of Mr Harris - and it would not be appropriate to attend the conference because it would undermine the office of the Garda Commissioner.

That refusal to invite the commissioner came in the wake of the association’s unprecedented vote of no confidence in the commissioner last year.

In September, some 98 per cent of respondents in a GRA vote ticked the box that they had no confidence in Mr Harris – something that the Commissioner said felt like a kick in the teeth.

Justice minister Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris before the unveiling of An Garda Siochana Monument of Remembrance at Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park in Dublin. Picture date: Saturday September 16, 2023.

Now, Ms McEntee has refused to attend the conference in solidarity with Mr Harris – something that has infuriated the GRA.

Mr O’Connor and Mr Slevin said her decision was extremely disappointing.

They added: "The invite to Conference was sent months ago, yet just six days prior to the Conference the Minister has informed us that she will not attend.

"While we can accept that the Minister has a busy schedule, the reasoning for her non-appearance was not a prior, more pressing engagement but instead, a show of solidarity and support for the Garda Commissioner who had not been extended an invitation.

"Commissioner Harris had not received an invitation to the GRA's 2024 Annual Conference as he had lost the support of the GRA membership, shown by the unprecedented vote back in September which returned almost 99 per cent of all GRA members voting no confidence in the Garda Commissioner."

They added they still believed in a separation of powers between the houses of Oireachtas and the senior management of the gardaí - which they said was a key element in any democracy to ensure the independence and legitimacy of policing.

They said: "This decision has the potential to blur the lines of separation in the eyes of our members and indeed the public we serve. We have engaged with Minister McEntee and An Taoiseach Simon Harris over the past 12 months to express our concerns regarding the current crises facing our Association.

"The Minister would have had the opportunity to listen to these concerns first hand from delegates right across the country, but sadly the Minster has decided to decline this invitation and will have to hear of these concerns through the media.

"Over the past 12 months, Minister McEntee has publicly stated her belief that the only way to resolve issues was to get parties engaged around a table, yet she has now turned down that opportunity to join the primary platform for issues that face gardaí on the frontline.

"An Taoiseach Simon Harris stated two weeks ago that he intends to make law and order one of his main priorities which makes the decision of his key Minister all the more baffling."

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