Garda Reserve Experiences

ZoneAlarm

lehanemore wrote: »

the reserve concept has been branded a failure.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/scrap-reserves--and-save-83643m--a-year--gardai-1634076.html

another recommendation was to reduce the number of Ombudsman commissioners from three to one.

Makes interesting reading all right they could prob save more money if they got rid of all the ministers cars as well some costing as much as €70,000 each plus a driver :rolleyes:

towel401

ZoneAlarm wrote: »

Makes interesting reading all right they could prob save more money if they got rid of all the ministers cars as well some costing as much as €70,000 each plus a driver :rolleyes:

why stop there? lets get rid of the ministers too. those guys are even more of a waste

goldie fish

We could dump half of the Senate, and all the Junior ministers, and nobody would notice.

towel401

back benchers serve only to nod along to biffo anyway

innercitydub1

somebody said get rid of politicians drivers save 70 + could not agree more

i will be so ...... off if the reserves is abondoned ive been going through the hole process the last year and a half will be a waist of so much of my time and effort

i cant see myself staying in this contry much longer

canada scotland new zealand which one shall i choose :L

controller

ifaughthelaw wrote: »

I read in the indo yesterday that the garda unions are calling for the reserves to be scraped and save 3 million,were is that money being spent
taking that there are only over 300 of us.It must be on garda wages that
are over us.I know what to do take 10% off the enormous benchmark
payments they got.but you couldnt do that just look at all the crying
the public sector done whan they were told they would have to pay5%
into there own pensions.(servants of the people)yea right:rolleyes:

Wow, I'm surprised you joined based on your opinions. To publically critise an organisation you voluntarily joined defies logic.

Eru

controller wrote: »

Wow, I'm surprised you joined based on your opinions. To publically critise an organisation you voluntarily joined defies logic.

Not too mention that the information he is using is wrong :rolleyes:

freddiew

ifaughthelaw wrote: »

I read in the indo yesterday that the garda unions are calling for the reserves to be scraped and save 3 million,were is that money being spent
taking that there are only over 300 of us.It must be on garda wages that
are over us.I know what to do take 10% off the enormous benchmark
payments they got.but you couldnt do that just look at all the crying
the public sector done whan they were told they would have to pay5%
into there own pensions.(servants of the people)yea right:rolleyes:

451 is the total

KIERAN61

Personally I would not worry too much about what the Garda Union is saying in this instance.It is the nature of Unions to play to the gallery and to it's own members to a certain extent.It shows that they are not lying down and that they are seen to be making some comment on the political situation that is currently unfolding visa vi the Public pension debacle.
I am surprised nobody had had a go at the LDF or whatever they are called these days as I believe they receive a bigger allowance than the Reserves.

billyhead

Hi Folks,

I have a rescheduled interview for the Reserves next week and was wondeiring is it really worth joining i.e what would you say are the pros and cons of being a member?

padlad88

If your having doubts you shouldnt go and waste your time and theirs...you should know why you want to join!

KIERAN61

billyhead wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I have a rescheduled interview for the Reserves next week and was wondeiring is it really worth joining i.e what would you say are the pros and cons of being a member?

Like anything there are good and bad sides to every occupation, organisation etc.I believe my time in the Reserves has far more postives than negatives attached to it.It helps you to become a more rounded individual for one.More often than not you are put outside your comfort zone where you are both challenged by the job and your own limitations.If you are open to new and varied experiences then go for it you never know what you might learn.

stiofanD

KIERAN61 wrote: »

Like anything there are good and bad sides to every occupation, organisation etc.I believe my time in the Reserves has far more postives than negatives attached to it.It helps you to become a more rounded individual for one.More often than not you are put outside your comfort zone where you are both challenged by the job and your own limitations.If you are open to new and varied experiences then go for it you never know what you might learn.

This is _exactly_ the reason I am joining up. I've been out in the workforce for a number of years, so I'm pretty comfortable doing my day job. I was really looking for something that would take me way outside my comfort zone and challenge me in new ways. The GR sounded like it would do just that.

I'm starting the training on Saturday week and can't wait to get stuck in

lehanemore

billyhead wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I have a rescheduled interview for the Reserves next week and was wondeiring is it really worth joining i.e what would you say are the pros and cons of being a member?

I think this is a fair question. The way I see it, there are four different angles that you must consider this from:-

1. your family
2. your friends
3. your work colleagues
4. the Gardai themselves, the unit(s) you will work with

I have gotten a fairly good reaction from 1,2 and 3 so far, when I've told them about going for it. My family are supportive, my friends find it amusing, my co-workers were a bit standoffish and the slagging has started all ready, but that's ok, I was expecting that to some degree.

But with the publc sector being hit at the moment it wouldn't surprise me to find the reserves getting bad vibes from the full-timers, maybe for the wrong reasons, but it would be demoralising none the less.

billyhead

Thanks for the replys. I would have no problem with 1 to 3 becasue I have no family to support and work 9 to 5 (off at weekends) so spare time would not be an issue. I would be concerned with the reaction from full time Guards as to being a reserve. The main reason I would apply would be for the challenge and to help out in the community.

TheNog

billyhead wrote: »

Thanks for the replys. I would have no problem with 1 to 3 becasue I have no family to support and work 9 to 5 (off at weekends) so spare time would not be an issue. I would be concerned with the reaction from full time Guards as to being a reserve. The main reason I would apply would be for the challenge and to help out in the community.

I cannot speak for all gardai but generally Reserves are accepted for the people they are. Some members may be against the Reserves as a replacement for fulll time guards but for anyone to show disdain or reluctance to work with a Reserve is plain wrong.

If you join up, get stuck in with the rest of the full timers and you will gain the respect

ZoneAlarm

TheNog wrote: »

I cannot speak for all Garda but generally Reserves are accepted for the people they are. Some members may be against the Reserves as a replacement for full time guards but for anyone to show disdain or reluctance to work with a Reserve is plain wrong.

If you join up, get stuck in with the rest of the full timers and you will gain the respect

I totally agree with you its like going to work for a new company all the other employees are a bit reluctant to be to pally with you as they do not know you but once they get used to you and they way you react to things people change their views and then you are treated as one of the lads its all down to trust

freddiew

KIERAN61 wrote: »

Personally I would not worry too much about what the Garda Union is saying in this instance.It is the nature of Unions to play to the gallery and to it's own members to a certain extent.It shows that they are not lying down and that they are seen to be making some comment on the political situation that is currently unfolding visa vi the Public pension debacle.
I am surprised nobody had had a go at the LDF or whatever they are called these days as I believe they receive a bigger allowance than the Reserves.

The Reserves are in most countries, some paid and with the same powers. We would be the laughing stock of the world if we ceased the Reserves.
http://www.opdjobs.com/oakland-police-department-reserve-police-officer.htm

boardsbandit200

Hi I've posted a few things about the reserves on this forum.
Ive been in the reserves for a nearly two years now and i want to say that it is a great voluntary organization to be part of- tonight i will go in to assist gardai.
i still learn something new every night because every night is different. I don't have a bad word to say about other gardai- all in my unit have grown to accept me for what i do and who i am and not a negative comment has been made towards me- only that all of us reserves have to be a bit mental to their job for free:). I wouldn't give up the position for anything and i look forward to every weekend that i work.

"A volunteer is someone who works for a community or for the benefit of environment primarily because they choose to do so"

we're the way we are right now because people have taken too much and not given anything back

Jack O'Neill

Absolutely well put, NOG. Thanks.

ZoneAlarm

boardsbandit200 wrote: »

Hi I've posted a few things about the reserves on this forum.
Ive been in the reserves for a nearly two years now and i want to say that it is a great voluntary organization to be part of- tonight i will go in to assist gardai.
i still learn something new every night because every night is different. I don't have a bad word to say about other gardai- all in my unit have grown to accept me for what i do and who i am and not a negative comment has been made towards me- only that all of us reserves have to be a bit mental to their job for free:). I wouldn't give up the position for anything and i look forward to every weekend that i work.

"A volunteer is someone who works for a community or for the benefit of environment primarily because they choose to do so"

we're the way we are right now because people have taken too much and not given anything back

I could not agree with you more and well done for letting us have a little incite to your time in the GR

Hope you have many more and can keep us all updated from time to time

CO19

boardsbandit200 wrote: »

we're the way we are right now because people have taken too much and not given anything back

Well said bb200

freddiew

boardsbandit200 wrote: »

Hi I've posted a few things about the reserves on this forum.
Ive been in the reserves for a nearly two years now and i want to say that it is a great voluntary organization to be part of- tonight i will go in to assist gardai.
i still learn something new every night because every night is different. I don't have a bad word to say about other gardai- all in my unit have grown to accept me for what i do and who i am and not a negative comment has been made towards me- only that all of us reserves have to be a bit mental to their job for free:). I wouldn't give up the position for anything and i look forward to every weekend that i work.

"A volunteer is someone who works for a community or for the benefit of environment primarily because they choose to do so"

we're the way we are right now because people have taken too much and not given anything back

The Reserves in my station are really appreciated as they are very low on manpower as it’s a busy one. From the Garda up to Super. They are so friendly; they even phone me on my mobile from time to time for special events. I will even do extra hours to help them out. By the way for those out there, who knock the reserves, insert Police Reserves into Google, Reserves are all over the world and most have the same powers as the full timers and some countries are starting to pay Reserves they are so pleased with them. I may see some of you who are in the Dublin district on Tuesday at 7pm? If you want to contact me re Tuesday, please PRIVATE me.

The almighty me

FreddieW
Good answer there Freddie.
although people are just people at the end of the day, therefore not everybody is going to like everybody, there will always be personality clashes, no matter what the role.But in general the reserves are accepted where I am also, bar one or 2 people from about 30. But I would always allow for that number in any job.

Silently loud

wex wrote: »

given that most of the chatter about the reserve force on boards has been "curtain twitching busy bodies", I doubt that anyone would actually admit to being a member.
Saying that a mate of mine is a member of the pilot scheme, and all is going well, as usuall the press reports are over exagerated, she has had no problems other than getting the time to fit in the training, which is far from the 48 hours published and banded about by the gra.

Hi,

I am a GR. Love it. The full timers are brillant, some of them are so funny and easy going just look forward to going on shift with them.

DubNorth

Sallies23 wrote: »

Hi TheNog

Yes I will do, hopefully it would be allowed but I will let you know when I find out.
I really really want to join the reserves, there is a good chance that I will be made redundant in my job next year which could give me the opportunity to head off for a year and ride out the recession for a while.
Though if GS have a recruitment drive before then that could change depending how the reserves go for me.
I will see what happens.

Sallies23 - I am a member of the reserves and am hoping to go away for a year later on in the year, did you find out if we can rejoin?

baton charge

Hi all,The talk around my station is that recruitment to both the full time and Gr's is to be put on hold.Understandable really in the current climate. Effective from when? Can anybody else substantiate this.

freddiew

baton charge wrote: »

Hi all,The talk around my station is that recruitment to both the full time and Gr's is to be put on hold.Understandable really in the current climate. Effective from when? Can anybody else substantiate this.

Just not true, I can only speak for the Reserves and recruitment is NOT on hold. I was at a meeting tonight for all reserves in the DMR and C.S. Fitzgerald said they were doing heavy advertising in the country as they need more country people to apply. C.S. Fitzgerald with be on "Mooney" RTE 1 Radio Wednesday afternoon(today)

i-digress

Sorry for my ignorance, but by full-timers do you mean reserve members who volunteer to work a full working week (:eek:) or employed officers? I take it you mean the latter, but who knows what Cowen and Co. will pull out of their hat next! :rolleyes:

DubNorth

no not reserves, the recruitment campaign for members of the fulltime force