The Self pitying garda...

Mr.McLovin

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/rank-and-file-garda-reveals-day-to-day-struggle-people-spit-at-me-kick-punch-and-headbutt-me-29770709.html

A GARDA has claimed that a number of his colleagues are contacting charities for financial assistance due to stinging pay cuts.

The rank-and-file officer, writing anonymously, claims he has had people “spit at me, kick, punch and headbutt me”.

“People don’t care whether or not if they hurt or assault members anymore,” he writes.

“I’ve heard reports of members having to go to their parents for financial support or to the St Vincent de Paul Society to put food on the table, to have fuel to light their fires or to get clothes to clothe their children.

“A lot of gardai got greedy during the good times but it didn’t help when a certain mortgage lender asked you how much you wanted when you enquired about a mortgage.”

Sounds like a bit of a whinger this guy, I'm not really sure what he expects giving this interview to the newspaper as average joe is feeling the pinch every bit as much. When you hear of the taxi driver in Finglas last night being shot in the legs over a fare, its hard to empathise with somebody trained and paid to deal with scum when a lot of us our dealing with what he describes on our doorsteps.

I think most people are running low on sympathy for this type of article and will most likely have the opposite effect to what he was trying to achieve.

super_furry

"The rank-and-file officer, writing anonymously, claims he has had people “spit at me, kick, punch and headbutt me".

And that's just in the station canteen.

Boombastic

what brand cornflakes doess he/she eat?

can they not just up their take from the evidence locker?

hansfrei

They don't get paid so well as far as I know.

SEPT 23 1989

hansfrei wrote: »

They don't get paid so well as far as I know.

they do, as well as the allowances and a lotto win pension at the end of it

cuana

Well in fairness he signed up for the guards violence against them is bound to happen. Many people are struggling financially and are in need of support whatever there job description/title may be.

gobnaitolunacy

“A lot of gardai got greedy during the good times but it didn’t help when a certain mortgage lender asked you how much you wanted when you enquired about a mortgage.”

That's your problem, right there.
Boo-hoo.

hansfrei

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

they do, as well as the allowances and a lotto win pension at the end of it

Can't argue with the lotto pension. Dunno if the payscale is great. This country is seriously expensive.

jamesbondings

Arm them. They won't face these difficulties for long.......

Eight Ball

Must be hard being on 65k a year after 10yrs service with a gold plated pension at the end of it. I know people who would give their left bollox for a package like that.

Boombastic

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

they do, as well as the allowances and a lotto win pension at the end of it

not to mention the free cups of coffee, chips and other undeclared benefit in kind

Eight Ball

hansfrei wrote: »

Can't argue with the lotto pension. Dunno if the payscale is great. This country is seriously expensive.

It's as expensive for a garda as it is for someone who works the tills at Tesco.

flutered

he is welcome to live on my inviladity pension,€193 with falling perks ie add ons, people verbally abuse me telling me how i am a drain in the countrys finances, i was spat on punched etc while working as a store dective, much harder than a gardas wwork, it paid schit money as well, what does he want, pity, everything thats going this goverment took in their austerity budgets, bar theit own wages and perks, look at pics of the cabenit when it was formed, look at a pic of them now, they have in farming parlance throve well, no ivomic was used on them. each one has had their pants and neck size increaced to xxxx. while they preach how well things are.

mattjack

Eight Ball wrote: »

Must be hard being on 65k a year after 10yrs service with a gold plated pension at the end of it. I know people who would give their left bollox for a package like that.

where did you see that figure of 65k ?

Soft Falling Rain

cuana wrote: »

Well in fairness he signed up for the guards violence against them is bound to happen. Many people are struggling financially and are in need of support whatever there job description/title may be.

Agreed, the way some of them go on you'd swear they thought that they were signing up for a handy number.

Xeyn

The Garda in this country are amongst the best police service I have seen and Ive lived in a few countries. One of the reasons might be because they get paid a decent salary. I dont begrudge them that at all, they do a fine job as far as im concerned.

Eight Ball

mattjack wrote: »

where did you see that figure of 65k ?

I didn't see it anywhere I have a family friend who is a Garda 12 years now and even after cuts he is on that kind of money. The fecker moans every time I see him about how he's finding it hard to pay off his 2200 a month mortgage. The sense of entitlement from some sectors of our society is breath taking.

Cd_doe

flutered wrote: »

while working as a store dective, much harder than a gardas wwork, .

That's just funny.

thestar

How bad is garda pay? I know they get paid weekly and one of the weeks payment is bigger than the other 3 for some reason.. I find it hard to believe that some are only coming out with 400e a week after tax.

tv_king

hansfrei wrote: »

Can't argue with the lotto pension. Dunno if the payscale is great. This country is seriously expensive.

prior to the start of PS cuts in 2008 , the average guard was on nearly 1100 per week excluding overtime , work out the level of pay cuts since + pension levy and that's your answer

new entrants would be on a lot less than those who signed up six years ago however

tv_king

Xeyn wrote: »

The Garda in this country are amongst the best police service I have seen and Ive lived in a few countries. One of the reasons might be because they get paid a decent salary. I dont begrudge them that at all, they do a fine job as far as im concerned.

police forces must be truly awful in other countries if ours are amongst the best

AGS are great if you are someone who is important

Xeyn

Eight Ball wrote: »

I didn't see it anywhere I have a family friend who is a Garda 12 years now and even after cuts he is on that kind of money. The fecker moans every time I see him about how he's finding it hard to pay off his 2200 a month mortgage. The sense of entitlement from some sectors of our society is breath taking.

I heard a private sector moaning the other day. The private sector must be full of people with a sense of entitlement so.

tv_king

mattjack wrote: »

where did you see that figure of 65k ?

a guard with ten years experience would easily be on that as a gross salary including overtime , a seargent ( and above ) would be on that as a base

TerrorFirmer

thestar wrote: »

How bad is garda pay? I know they get paid weekly and one of the weeks payment is bigger than the other 3 for some reason.. I find it hard to believe that some are only coming out with 400e a week after tax.

That would be what, 24k gross or whatever? Sounds about right for a starting or junior guard.

mattjack

Eight Ball wrote: »

I didn't see it anywhere I have a family friend who is a Garda 12 years now and even after cuts he is on that kind of money. The fecker moans every time I see him about how he's finding it hard to pay off his 2200 a month mortgage. The sense of entitlement from some sectors of our society is breath taking.

Ah.... anecdotal evidence , the best kind of evidence.
Its about 44k annually.

maximoose

“A lot of gardai got greedy during the good times but it didn’t help when a certain mortgage lender asked you how much you wanted when you enquired about a mortgage.”

Were they supposed to just guess?

Wicklowrider

Indo editor to reporter: " What have you got for me today?"
reporter: "jack all, I'll make something up and do the usual - quote unamed source...."

A.H "Wouldn't believe a word from the Indo - oh wait here they are with a chance to have a go at the Gardai ( or unemployed or single mothers or one legged pregnant grannies....) Grand, so , lets believe every word..."

You wouldn't be able to pay me enough to be a Garda. I wouldnt' be able to cope with being confronted with the worst of humanity and human nature on a daily basis. I'm sure most of them have things that can never been unseen that have stayed with them.

I'd hate to be stuck on duty on a Saturday night, dealing with the knives, the fights, the drunken aggro and the general crap they have to deal with. And that's before you get to the real gems of sex assaults, stabbings, shootings, murders, child abuses, and the rest of the things the rest of us don't have to deal with.

And of course there's the ill-informed contempt of people on the internet to contend with.

Whatever they're paid, it probably isn't enough as far as I'm concerned, and I'm grateful they go out and do the job they do every day.

thestar

Its accepted that Gardai and Soldiers and poorly paid and not the first time iv seen it in the media. It should not be hard to have the basics in life with the wages they are on but some have huge mortgages and that is where the problem is

Padraig Mor

mattjack wrote: »

Ah.... anecdotal evidence , the best kind of evidence.
Its about 44k annually.

Average Garda rank (i.e. 'rank and file'; the lowest rank) pay is €57k including premium payments according to the Dept of Justice. They should know - they pay them! The story in the OP is a pile of rubbish.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I used to semi date a guard, and tbh, he didn't seem to be in need of any financial assistance from charities, there also seemed to be a good bit of overtime too.

Boombastic

Candie wrote: »

You wouldn't be able to pay me enough to be a Garda. I wouldnt' be able to cope with being confronted with the worst of humanity and human nature on a daily basis. I'm sure most of them have things that can never been unseen that have stayed with them.

I'd hate to be stuck on duty on a Saturday night, dealing with the knives, the fights, the drunken aggro and the general crap they have to deal with. And that's before you get to the real gems of sex assaults, stabbings, shootings, murders, child abuses, and the rest of the things the rest of us don't have to deal with.

And of course there's the ill-informed contempt of people on the internet to contend with.

Whatever they're paid, it probably isn't enough as far as I'm concerned, and I'm grateful they go out and do the job they do every day.

The difference between you and the Garda in the article is that you considered what the job entailed and decided it wasn't for you. He jointed and then seems suprised it isn't all stamping passport forms and traffic management

Plazaman

Eight Ball wrote: »

Must be hard being on 65k a year after 10yrs service with a gold plated pension at the end of it. I know people who would give their left bollox for a package like that.

Per GRA, tis only €44,744 after 10 years

58% of people when writing on forums make up figures instead of researching the correct ones *


* I made that up but you see how it goes

hansfrei

LexieOnRale wrote: »

I used to semi date a guard, and tbh, he didn't seem to be in need of any financial assistance from charities, there also seemed to be a good bit of overtime too.

You got a date when he got a semi?

DEFTLEFTHAND

The haven't recruited since the moratorium was put into place in 09.
I know the last batch who came out of the college were subject to a different payscale. 396 net pay a week according to the GRA website for a junior guard (less than one year)

That's not great considering it's demanding shift work with restrictions on overtime.

Xeyn

Boombastic wrote: »

The difference between you and the Garda in the article is that you considered what the job entailed and decided it wasn't for you. He jointed and then seems suprised it isn't all stamping passport forms and traffic management

I dont understand this. He should accept abuse then because he wanted to be a garda? (because we all know thats the primary consideration when wanting to become one)
Thats like anyone who works in a transient industry shouldnt be upset when/if they get layed off.

Bog Standard User

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

they do, as well as the allowances and a lotto win pension at the end of it

they also get to retired at 57 with full pension... still young enough to get a job at a security firm and still have their pension

tigger123

Eight Ball wrote: »

I didn't see it anywhere I have a family friend who is a Garda 12 years now and even after cuts he is on that kind of money. The fecker moans every time I see him about how he's finding it hard to pay off his 2200 a month mortgage. The sense of entitlement from some sectors of our society is breath taking.

65k? What rank is he?

Boombastic

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

The haven't recruited since the moratorium was put into place in 09.
I know the last batch who came out of the college were subject to a different payscale. 396 net pay a week according to the GRA website for a junior guard (less than one year)

That's not great considering it's demanding shift work with restrictions on overtime.

this guy says gardai got greedy during the boom, therfore we can assume he's pre 09, what's their net pay?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

hansfrei wrote: »

You got a date when he got a semi?

Naw, I dated him but kept my options open :cool:

joe40

There would still seem to be plenty of people looking to join.


http://www.thejournal.ie/garda-recruitment-3-1062349-Sep2013/

I don't want to be anti gardai and I fully accept that the job is very demanding and difficult, but to talk about guards on the poverty line and in need of St.Vincent de Paul assistance is just silly.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Eight Ball wrote: »

Must be hard being on 65k a year after 10yrs service with a gold plated pension at the end of it. I know people who would give their left bollox for a package like that.

Guards pay isn't that high, that's inspector rank pay level. An ordinary Garda max pay is €45k after 17 years service.

Orlaw3136

I think there is a disconnect here.

Point A - being a garda is frequently a tough and onerous job, during the course of which there is a strong likelihood of people wishing you and doing you harm and ill. Those who do it and do it well deserve our thanks and admiration.

A valid point.

Point B - Gardai are not paid as much as they used to.

A valid point.

However, the same can be said of every other public sector job. When the boss is bust the wages go down.

Point C - Gardai who over-extended themselves financially are under severe pressure because they can't afford to pay back their debts.

This is factually correct.

It is not however a reason to increase Garda salaries.

And that's the disconnect. Point A being true does not lead to the conclusion that we must accordingly increase garda salaries, and point C is not a reason to do so either.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

flutered wrote: »

he is welcome to live on my inviladity pension,€193 with falling perks ie add ons, people verbally abuse me telling me how i am a drain in the countrys finances, i was spat on punched etc while working as a store dective, much harder than a gardas wwork, it paid schit money as well, what does he want, pity, everything thats going this goverment took in their austerity budgets, bar theit own wages and perks, look at pics of the cabenit when it was formed, look at a pic of them now, they have in farming parlance throve well, no ivomic was used on them. each one has had their pants and neck size increaced to xxxx. while they preach how well things are.

I'm sorry but I strongly disagree with almost everything you have posted.

You say he is welcome to live on your invalidity pension but the difference is that he is working in paid employment. Being fair, you cannot compare a working wage and someone on benefits.

Invalidity pension is not a bad deal. If it is only 193 euro cash per week (I thought it was more), you obviously get other goodies as well, such as medical card, heating allowance (quite generous), unlimited free travel and I'm sure they aren't the only extra benefits. You also presumably live rent free, or at least contribute a minimum amount of the money you receive towards it.

I know for a fact a 'store detective' isn't as hard a job as that of a Garda. It's an outrageous claim to make.
The responsibility and training alone justifies why they are paid more than 'store detectives'.
You say 'what does he want, pity', yet your post reeks of 'poor me' even more so then the person you're talking about.

You then go on, I think, to imply that because many of the cabinet are fat (they are) that they must be wealthy when in fact it is poorer people statistically who are usually more obese.

Your post annoyed me! :mad:

Xeyn

To be fair I dont think anyone is saying Gardas salary should be increased to cover for those who overextended themselves.

diomed

The allowances is where its at. The salary is just something to trot out when discussing how tough they have it.

AGC

The figures being thrown around are comical!!

No run of the mill Garda is on 65k. Even after overtime which is fairly minimal these days due to new shift arrangements.

People have a serious gripe. The conditions they work in are brutal with little to no support from their Minister or Commissioner.

Wait till you see the people that go for the recruitment when it opens, people who would never have even considered it a few years ago. It will lead to a much bigger turnover and damage the force IMO.

Like firemen, doctors and front line emergency staff they are treated like crap.

Also for people going on about allowances....Just look how much they are!! less than €3 a week in some cases

Cd_doe

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

I'm sorry but I strongly disagree with almost everything you have posted.

You say he is welcome to live on your invalidity pension but the difference is that he is working in paid employment. Being fair, you cannot compare a working wage and someone on benefits.

Invalidity pension is not a bad deal. If it is only 193 euro cash per week (I thought it was more), you obviously get other goodies as well, such as medical card, heating allowance (quite generous), unlimited free travel and I'm sure they aren't the only extra benefits. You also presumably live rent free, or at least contribute a minimum amount of the money you receive towards it.

I know for a fact a 'store detective' isn't as hard a job as that of a Garda. It's an outrageous claim to make.
The responsibility and training alone justifies why they are paid more than 'store detectives'.
You say 'what does he want, pity', yet your post reeks of 'poor me' even more so then the person you're talking about.

You then go on, I think, to imply that because many of the cabinet are fat (they are) that they must be wealthy when in fact it is poorer people statistically who are usually more obese.

Your post annoyed me! :mad:

+1

Knob Longman

jamesbondings wrote: »

Arm them. They won't face these difficulties for long.......

I wouldn't trust half of them with guns not to kill or injure innocent people, and it's us the taxpayers that would have to pay the inevitable legal bills that would arise.

BraziliaNZ

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH LUGZ BRANNIGAN BLAH BLAH BLHA BALAHS

wicklowstevo

"I didn't see it anywhere I have a family friend who is a Garda 12 years now and even after cuts he is on that kind of money." eight ball that's just not true , not even close mate .

tv king . prior to the start of PS cuts in 2008 , the average guard was on nearly 1100 per week excluding overtime , work out the level of pay cuts since + pension levy and that's your answer.
that's crazy, prove that comment if you can, it would be less than half that for a lad at the top of the pay scale in reality maybe crazy ideas like that is why there's so much hostility towards public servants .


the reality is that the average garda has less than ten years service and is working 60 hours a week on a frozen pay scale, ( 6 ten hour days and then four days off) for ballpark 400 euro a week. there is NO OVERTIME because every thing is done on the 30 free haddington road hours.

also for your info , the average garda dies within ten years of retirement so don't you worry about the pension.


yes many gardai got them selfs stuck in stupid mortgages just like every one else, unfortunately gardai cant piss off to Canada or aus and pay from there ,and cant get part time jobs either to take up the slack of the 30 odd percent of their pay that has vanished in the last three years. .

the truth is most gardai would be happy enough as long as there wasn't any more pay cuts as long as there was some investment in resources and a change on minister, Management has repeatedly thrown away vital money on the most stupid of things (mobile garda station, the reserves outdated equipment) A proper management structure would do wonders for both moral and the public perception