Garda Allowances

PCPhoto · 27-09-2009 12:08pm

3fullback wrote: »

Gardai do a great job and are very hard working.
They have to deal with murders, suicide , rape and just about every other thing thats detroying our country . There is'nt too many of us that have them kind of things in our 9-5 jobs ! Any few pence they get for going to court or uniform is well earned.I Dont see to many jobs where you have to tell Parents that the 17 year old son has died in a traffic accident.

Now, leave the gards alone there not the people who got us into this mess and by taking away the few pence spent on allowance wont get us out of it either.

Its the Bankers, Developers , Politians, these are the people who should be attacked and ripped of everything there worth.

I agree with your post - but why not just pay the Gardai a higher salary and cut out the "hidden" paypacket....or have the Gardai been using the system and are these bonuses tax free ?

I would much rather know that a Garda earns a flat €60K + overtime when available, same way I would prefer if a Politician earns €100K and any expenses they have should be paid for by themselves....lets see how many of them will overspend then !!!

I work for myself and have the benefit of various tax reliefs - of which I qualify for - I would much prefer that the government turned around and said - straight forward - I can earn "X" amount and I get taxed "Y" amount ..... or if I earn over "X" amount I fall into "C" tax rate and have to pay that rate - I would have to pay any and all expenses out of my own pocket and would know how extra work would effect me, last month(August) I earned €1500 - I dont qualify for SW as I'm self employed - I know that there are loads of loopholes that would allow me to avoid various taxes but to be honest I'd rather more transparency and less loopholes.
I have had this talk with my accountant as to what I qualify for as regards stuff to write off against tax - aparently I'm entitled to €15 per day food allowance - if out of the office for more than 8hours, €500 a year clothing allowance - to buy work related clothes. - just examples of the shambolic loopholes the government have out there, I would much rather they changed it to allow me earn an extra 5K a year on the lower tax bracket

source · 27-09-2009 4:12pm

I am a Garda with a just over a years service since i was attested, here's what i come out with each week.

firstly i worked in the private sector before joining the Gardai, and brought a loan with me when i started. so i had to borrow that from the Garda credit union, as the bank wouldn't adjust my loan for the time i was training.

when i started in the college i was getting €200 a week out of which i had to pay for my loan at €50pw(reduced rate while training) and pay for my medical insurance at €25pw. so i lived on €125 a week

I now have a weekly salary of €571pw since i've been attested, I am currently coming out with net €280pw

I pay a whole range deductions including levy's, pension income and health. We also have to pay a subscription of the GRA. There is a total deduction outside of my loan of €230per week.

I get a total of €89 per week in allowances.

We get one big cheque a month with our shift allowance in it. and the other allowances (IF APPLICABLE) are added in this.

Because we get paid weekly and we get one large pay cheque per month, Revenue feel that if we were to get paid on a large scale like that 52 weeks of the year we would be in the higher tax band, and so charge the higher tax rates and levy's for this cheque, which when added to the other deductions, means we loose over 50% of the cheque we busted our butts working nights and whatever little overtime we can scrounge up.

On the being paid 3 hours for court, I have often gone into court at 10:30 and not had the case heard till about 3 or 4 o'clock, yet i have to sit there in case the case is called. Am i wrong in being paid a paltry 3 hours for giving up a full day of my free time which i have no control over?

If i work away from my home district(not station) for more than 5 hours i then get to claim an allowance for that.

If i work for a match in a stadium, the IRFU, FAI, GAA, MCD or whatever other organisation is running the event pays for the Garda presence, which we have to fill in paperwork to claim and then wait an age for the the paperwork to be sent to the organisation and for the money to be transfered to the Gardai before i get paid, this is then subject to the big cheque tax deductions that i outlined earlier.

Turner · 27-09-2009 5:58pm

And just to clear things up...

When you graduate from the Garda College if successful you get a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Not a diploma.

People are not happy with public servants at all at the moment because their jobs pay well (in todays climate) and they are safe.

Gardai are always targets of bashing threads because they have authority over people.

Its human nature not to like people who have authority over them.

Mat the trasher · 27-09-2009 8:35pm

You get holiday pay which is commesuarate to the hours you work in all jobs. If you get 500 basic plus 200 allowances a week you deserve the same in holiday pay.

Private sector pays basic hrs as holiday pay, no bonus, shift or other wise. There are perhaps a couple of exceptions but they are not the norm.

wee bey · 27-09-2009 8:46pm

Most employees in the private sector haven't got anything like the job security of the public sector. Do I think they are over paid for the qualifications that they have? Definitely. Two years training(guards) to get those benefits? As for it being a dangerous job, how many people die/get injured in farming and construction related industry each year in comparison? They should be thankful for having a job in the current climate and moaning about government levys isn't exactly endearing them to the ordinary working man or woman.

ScumLord · 27-09-2009 8:52pm

foinse wrote: »

On the being paid 3 hours for court, I have often gone into court at 10:30 and not had the case heard till about 3 or 4 o'clock, yet i have to sit there in case the case is called. Am i wrong in being paid a paltry 3 hours for giving up a full day of my free time which i have no control over?

Do you only get paid 3 hours no matter how long your there?

Chief--- wrote: »

People are not happy with public servants at all at the moment because their jobs pay well (in todays climate) and they are safe.

It's not the public servants really, but the PS are seen as "in the gang", People want the top politician's to get their come-upence, there's plenty in top management as well that are haemorrhaging money into the bin that should be found and sorted out. The public sector is corrupt in it's core, that's not really any public servants fault but it's hard for an ordinary citizen to trust any part of such a corrupt and bumbling institution. There's to much bureaucracy and management but it's the front line staff that take the flak for the inadequacys of the blotted pen pushers.

Odysseus · 27-09-2009 9:14pm

wee bey wrote: »

They should be thankful for having a job in the current climate and moaning about government levys isn't exactly endearing them to the ordinary working man or woman.

So your saying that most public sector employees are not ordinary working people?

murf313 · 27-09-2009 9:25pm

They should be thankful for having a job in the current climate and moaning about government levys isn't exactly endearing them to the ordinary working man or woman.[/quote]

why should we be thankfull for having a job??? I stopped working as a plumber in 2003 to join the army. I was making at least 4 times the amount as a tradesman than i was when i joined up.

why, you might ask would I do something stupid like this. Because i had always wanted to be a soldier and I knew I would have a steady wage and a pension at the end of it all.
I could have made a fortune during the celtic tiger and people were forever calling me an eejit for quitting plumbing and the thousands of euros a week i could be making.

most people did very well out of the celtic tiger, i didnt..... but i had a secure job etc...

so you can ram it if you think i should be thankful my job!

wee bey · 27-09-2009 9:32pm

Thousands of euro a week? If only that was true:(. There's probably a 50/50 chance that if you'd stayed at the plumbing you would be unemployed now so you SHOULD be grateful more than most. And to be fair its not like you made this big noble sacrifice. You've admitted you were partly seduced by the perks!

Orla K · 27-09-2009 9:39pm

Maybe this should be another thread but, why should anyone be grateful about having a job? I'm not saying they should be ungrateful just happy or content, is that not enough rather than being grateful.

Also, this is coming from someone without a job, if I got one tomorrow I would be delighted and relieved but not grateful.

murf313 · 27-09-2009 9:40pm

wee bey wrote: »

Thousands of euro a week? If only that was true:(. There's probably a 50/50 chance that if you'd stayed at the plumbing you would be unemployed now so you SHOULD be grateful more than most. And to be fair its not like you made this big noble sacrifice. You've admitted you were partly seduced by the perks!

it is true if you were sub contracting work. who should i be grateful to exactly. im the one who got myself to where i am today...... i have noone to be grateful to, the government didnt just hand me the job.

perks???? i wouldnt call them that, but if you want to thats fine. any way the job security and pension only make up for the low pay and unsociable hours...

wee bey · 27-09-2009 10:01pm

If you are sub-contracting work it means you are self employed and most likely also an employer. You are not entitled to holiday pay or a myriad of other allowances. What percentage of plumbers fall into this category? You are using an irrelevant example. I'm talking about a paye plumber or any tradesman for that matter. I cant think of any that earned the thousands a week that you're on about. Grateful, relieved, thankful whatever. No-one should take there job for granted is what I'm trying to say. And I'm not saying that you guys are. Every job has its pros and cons etc. As a matter of interest how do the pay rates in the irish defence forces compare with that of the U.S. and Britain, two countries that are fighting in a war?

murf313 · 27-09-2009 10:14pm

wee bey wrote: »

If you are sub-contracting work it means you are self employed and most likely also an employer. You are not entitled to holiday pay or a myriad of other allowances. What percentage of plumbers fall into this category? You are using an exteme and irrelevant example. I'm talking about a paye plumber or any tradesan for that matter. I cant think of any that earned the thousands a week that you're on about. Grateful, relieved, thankful whatever. No-one should take there job for granted is what I'm trying to say. And I'm not saying that you guys aren't. Every job has its pros and cons etc. As a matter of interest how do the pay rates in the irish defence forces compare with that of the U.S. and Britain, two countries that are fighting in a war?

not sure if your being smart here or not but....

irish army private is better paid than a BA private but BA soldier has better accomadation and alot of perks etc. cost of living probably makes up the difference i would imagine.

irish army nco's afaik are not as well paid as their british counterparts

not too sure about officers

I have no idea about the us army but cost of living is much lower than ireland

Local-womanizer · 27-09-2009 10:15pm

wee bey wrote: »

Thousands of euro a week? If only that was true:(. There's probably a 50/50 chance that if you'd stayed at the plumbing you would be unemployed now so you SHOULD be grateful more than most. And to be fair its not like you made this big noble sacrifice. You've admitted you were partly seduced by the perks!

That saying "you should be greatful to have a job" baffles me.Why should Murf be greatful,he made a choice and it has paid off in the long run.

That phrase smirks of begrudgery so it does.

The Gardai and the Defence Forces are hardly a handy route to take as a job.Murf said he always wanted to be a soldier,and he gave up a well paid job to realise that dream.

Picking a job because it is relativily secure and finacially secure shouldent draw critisim,any person would do the same given the choice tbh.

Bosco boy · 27-09-2009 10:31pm

bringingitall wrote: »

BASIC
+ shift allowance
+ rent allowance tax free(€4,160)
+ uniform allowance
+ boot allowance
+ away from station for the day allowance(airport passport guys + other moving prisoners from x to y)
+ overtime(easily availible, perhaps reduced now)
+ handy days standing around croke park (€200euro from what i'm told)
+ scheduling a ten minute court appearance on your day off knowing that you'll get paid for the minimum 5hours you get under union agreements that state you must be paid this minimum time regardless of your actual time worked(been told first hand about this)
+Garda credit union(cheap loans how many apartments have you rented from Garda i've been in 3 apartments all owned by garda in the last 5 years, 3 friends have garda landlords)
+health insurance for you and married partner
+ if put on clerical duty(9-5) an allowance to compensate you for the allowances your missing by not working unsocial hours
+ while on holiday pay an allowance to cover the overtime/allowance you could have potentiallly got if you weren't on the beach basically unsocial hours work allowance even though your not in
+ plain clothes allowance, if your plain clothes garda to buy your own clothes
+Gaeltacht Allowance and Aran Island Allowance
+ retire @ 50 with full pension(lump sum+payments)

What these cost the exchequer. Bear in mind it costs €4m to vaccinate young girls against cervical cancer and the goverment won't pay it.

Cost:
Rent allowance costs €58 million Its paid to every member up to and including superintendent.

Premium Payments (€9.07m) Paid to those on holiday who would normally be eligible for unsociable hours allowance.

Clerical Allowance (€2.07m) paid to cops doing paperwork to make up for the allowances they are loosing out on because they are basically clerical staff.

Gaeltacht Allowance and Aran Island Allowance (€1.2m) (its value is 7.5 per cent of basic pay)

Uniform Grant and Allowance and Boot Allowance (€5.4 m)

Plain Clothes Allowance (€1.9m)

Non-Public Duty Allowances (€1.7m)

Source:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...250847395.html

When a garda is standing over a mulitated body on the roadside at 4am in the morning and has to pick up the pieces and then he/she has to call to the family and break the news and then probally has to go to the morgue to get an identification from them I guess hes laughing to himself/herself at the night duty allowence they are getting, meanwhile you with your boney arse is flat out in bed, u wake up in the morning and think the sun got up the same time as you, you woulldnt last a day in their job, you should write for the herald

Daroxtar · 27-09-2009 11:19pm

" BASIC
+ shift allowance
+ rent allowance tax free(€4,160)
+ uniform allowance
+ boot allowance
+ away from station for the day allowance(airport passport guys + other moving prisoners from x to y)
+ overtime(easily availible, perhaps reduced now)
+ handy days standing around croke park (€200euro from what i'm told)
+ scheduling a ten minute court appearance on your day off knowing that you'll get paid for the minimum 5hours you get under union agreements that state you must be paid this minimum time regardless of your actual time worked(been told first hand about this)
+Garda credit union(cheap loans how many apartments have you rented from Garda i've been in 3 apartments all owned by garda in the last 5 years, 3 friends have garda landlords)
+health insurance for you and married partner
+ if put on clerical duty(9-5) an allowance to compensate you for the allowances your missing by not working unsocial hours
+ while on holiday pay an allowance to cover the overtime/allowance you could have potentiallly got if you weren't on the beach basically unsocial hours work allowance even though your not in
+ plain clothes allowance, if your plain clothes garda to buy your own clothes
+Gaeltacht Allowance and Aran Island Allowance
+ retire @ 50 with full pension(lump sum+payments)

What these cost the exchequer. Bear in mind it costs €4m to vaccinate young girls against cervical cancer and the goverment won't pay it.

Cost:
Rent allowance costs €58 million Its paid to every member up to and including superintendent.

Premium Payments (€9.07m) Paid to those on holiday who would normally be eligible for unsociable hours allowance.

Clerical Allowance (€2.07m) paid to cops doing paperwork to make up for the allowances they are loosing out on because they are basically clerical staff.

Gaeltacht Allowance and Aran Island Allowance (€1.2m) (its value is 7.5 per cent of basic pay)

Uniform Grant and Allowance and Boot Allowance (€5.4 m)

Plain Clothes Allowance (€1.9m)

Non-Public Duty Allowances (€1.7m)"

I cant even bother reading the rest of the thread when the first page is populated with bolox like this.
They're the ones dealing with drunks, mouthpieces and gimps every night of the week, They're the ones cutting down suicide victims, theyre the ones telling parents their kids are dead. They're the ones you call when you're fukked over by criminals and what thanks do they get?
Sh1te like this thread.

You Suck! · 27-09-2009 11:21pm

Wow, this thread is full of undercover guards. Can I just ask, are you getting the office allowance to post in this thread? :pac:

pipesofpeace · 10-11-2009 2:41pm

heard about these allowances on rte drivetime yesterday

just had to have a google and came across this!!!

The allowances laid out by the OP are almost scary

I nearly always beleived Garda when they told me they start off on F-all by the looks of things there on more than people with degrees and masters coming out of college.

By that i mean a person coming out of college with a masters would be looking at 24-26K a year.

Looks like they could have just skipped the 5 years unpaid training in college and done whatever it is 11 months PAID training in templemore

Its a joke, joke, joke, joke

Exon · 10-11-2009 2:52pm

I paid about 5 millions gards whole careers due to poxy high tax.

Dudess · 10-11-2009 2:57pm

Seems fair enough to me - law enforcement can't come cheap, and they'll never make an absolute fortune out of it, or reach salaries the likes of some in the private sector.

The-Rigger wrote: »

Don't forget breakfast roll allowance.
mmmm.

FYP

Relevant wrote: »

I'll give you nursing & social care. Maybe teaching, but i find it hard to include cheche work in the same boat as the rest

Sorry, but this attitude really annoys me: creche-workers are responsible for someone else's children ffs - just think of what that entails for a moment. And it's not "babysitting" like when you arrive at the house and the baby's already put to bed and you get to watch DVDs and eat popcorn. And what creche-workers get paid is laughable. My friend's earning in the low 20s and she's working at a place where the pay is considered not bad for the sector (it's in a leisure centre - a "stand-alone" creche would pay worse again). She had to go to college and get her diploma, she had to clock up loads of unpaid or barely paid work experience... As someone once said to me: you'd get paid more than that to look after someone else's car.

TouchingVirus · 10-11-2009 2:59pm

At first I thought Gardai were on great money, but then I got a look at one of their NET incomes for a week, not anymore.

I agree with the sentiment of most people in this thread - leave the aul Gardai alone, they didn't get us into this mess and crucifying them won't get us out of it

K-9 · 10-11-2009 3:06pm

foinse wrote: »

I am a Garda with a just over a years service since i was attested, here's what i come out with each week.

firstly i worked in the private sector before joining the Gardai, and brought a loan with me when i started. so i had to borrow that from the Garda credit union, as the bank wouldn't adjust my loan for the time i was training.

when i started in the college i was getting €200 a week out of which i had to pay for my loan at €50pw(reduced rate while training) and pay for my medical insurance at €25pw. so i lived on €125 a week

I now have a weekly salary of €571pw since i've been attested, I am currently coming out with net €280pw

I pay a whole range deductions including levy's, pension income and health. We also have to pay a subscription of the GRA. There is a total deduction outside of my loan of €230per week.

I get a total of €89 per week in allowances.

We get one big cheque a month with our shift allowance in it. and the other allowances (IF APPLICABLE) are added in this.

Because we get paid weekly and we get one large pay cheque per month, Revenue feel that if we were to get paid on a large scale like that 52 weeks of the year we would be in the higher tax band, and so charge the higher tax rates and levy's for this cheque, which when added to the other deductions, means we loose over 50% of the cheque we busted our butts working nights and whatever little overtime we can scrounge up.

On the being paid 3 hours for court, I have often gone into court at 10:30 and not had the case heard till about 3 or 4 o'clock, yet i have to sit there in case the case is called. Am i wrong in being paid a paltry 3 hours for giving up a full day of my free time which i have no control over?

If i work away from my home district(not station) for more than 5 hours i then get to claim an allowance for that.

If i work for a match in a stadium, the IRFU, FAI, GAA, MCD or whatever other organisation is running the event pays for the Garda presence, which we have to fill in paperwork to claim and then wait an age for the the paperwork to be sent to the organisation and for the money to be transfered to the Gardai before i get paid, this is then subject to the big cheque tax deductions that i outlined earlier.

Jaysus, that's some chunk to lose on that wage. Don't understand the point on Revenue though, if they take of too much you can always claim it back. You'll end up paying the same as everybody else!

Sizzler · 10-11-2009 3:11pm

Surely theres something wrong here? Me confused ! Everytime theres a debate about public sector wages on the likes of Newstalk / Today FM theres a gush of Gardai texting in to say how hard done by they are and any more cuts will tip them over the edge.

Must have been a mistake then :rolleyes:

TheNog · 10-11-2009 3:30pm

Daroxtar wrote: »

"

This is what we actually get:

BASIC
+ shift allowance
+ rent allowance tax free(€4,160)
+ uniform allowance
+ boot allowance
+ away from station for the day allowance(airport passport guys + other moving prisoners from x to y)
+ if put on clerical duty(9-5) an allowance to compensate you for the allowances your missing by not working unsocial hours
+ plain clothes allowance, if your plain clothes garda to buy your own clothes
+Gaeltacht Allowance and Aran Island Allowance
+ retire @ 50 with full pension(lump sum+payments)

You are misinformed here:

+ scheduling a ten minute court appearance on your day off knowing that you'll get paid for the minimum 5hours you get under union agreements that state you must be paid this minimum time regardless of your actual time worked(been told first hand about this) We prepare for court a half hour before getting there. Also we usually have many cases up not just the one. These cases are normally never one after the other but are spread across the court list. And its three hours OT not 5 as you mentioned

+ overtime(easily availible, perhaps reduced now) OT is seriously reduced almost to the point of being non existant
+ handy days standing around croke park (€200euro from what i'm told) Those days are not that handy
+Garda credit union(cheap loans how many apartments have you rented from Garda i've been in 3 apartments all owned by garda in the last 5 years, 3 friends have garda landlords) All loans still have to be repaid so its not free money
+health insurance for you and married partner Paid for by the member from his wages. Its not free
+ while on holiday pay an allowance to cover the overtime/allowance you could have potentiallly got if you weren't on the beach basically unsocial hours work allowance even though your not in Dont get paid OT but we do get our allowance. Same as anyone doing shift in the private sector

see above

whodoo · 10-11-2009 3:48pm

there seems to be a lot of guards on these here boards....think i'm gonna lay low for a while....:eek:

TouchingVirus · 10-11-2009 3:52pm

Just because there are supporters of the Gardai here doesn't mean they are all Gardai themselves. I'm not, but I still think the OP is bitter about something and talking complete shite

pipesofpeace · 10-11-2009 3:52pm

Check this article is the Irish Independent talking sh*te

Maybe the OP got a speeding ticket and is ticked off but at the end of the day the facts are the facts

Facts below:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0717/1224250847395.html

don't forget my favourite the €9.07m paid for Premium Payments

Defined as:

“Paid to members who are on leave [who] would ordinarily be entitled to claim unsocial hours allowance if they were not on leave.”

Basically unsocial hours/shift allowance even though your on your holliers. Nice!!

TouchingVirus · 10-11-2009 3:56pm

pipesofpeace wrote: »

don't forget the €9.07m paid for Premium Payments

Defined as:

“Paid to members who are on leave [who] would ordinarily be entitled to claim unsocial hours allowance if they were not on leave.”

Basically unsocial hours/shift allowance even though your on your holliers. Nice!!

Not just your holidays ...if on leave.

It's my understanding that if a member was meant to work a night shift where they would be entitled to shift allowance, but they take the day as leave, then they're fully entitled to earn what they would have had they worked the night, including shift allowance.

It's the same for a lot of shift-work jobs. If you work a week of nights and a week of days and you get a night allowance then if you took a two week holiday you should get paid for a week of nights and days, and not two weeks of days.

Mind you, with two posts I didn't expect anything better :rolleyes:

pipesofpeace · 10-11-2009 4:00pm

Not just your holidays ...if on leave.

It's my understanding that if a member was meant to work a night shift where they would be entitled to shift allowance, but they take the day as leave, then they're fully entitled to earn what they would have had they worked the night, including shift allowance.

It's the same for a lot of shift-work jobs. If you work a week of nights and a week of days and you get a night allowance then if you took a two week holiday you should get paid for a week of nights and days, and not two weeks of days.

Mind you, with two posts I didn't expect anything better

You seem to know alot about the inner workings of the Guards or as you say "It's my understanding............"

Wow what a wondefully simple explaination so simple the McCarthy report singles this payment out as completly unjustified and we all know McCarthy is a retard what with his PHD's and such

suppose 1,135 posts qualifies you better than McCarthy or is that maybe your garda on clerical duty picking up an allowance becuase your missing out on another allowance and can focus and getting your post count up while god love me in the private sector who can't get a minute to post on boards unless its my day off

Hootanany · 10-11-2009 4:07pm

I would not mind these allowances if they cleared all the Junkies of the Boardwalk and not turn a blind eye as they all do

Garda Allowances

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