Cruel reality of life for Gardai

snubbleste

TheStar - Cruel reality of life for Gardai

As I sit at home writing this I know I’m risking my job by attempting to tell the truth about what it’s like to be a member of AGS in 2015.
I have been a member of An Garda Siochana for over a decade.

Having our wages cut so much that gardai are forced to sleep in their cars so they will have enough fuel to be able to go to work day in and day out. I’m not ashamed to say I’m personally struggling to live day to day money-wise.
I’ve gone days eating cereal so my kids can eat a proper meal.
I’ve struggled with everything from having tax on my car to having food in the presses at home.
I know lads out of work that are on better money unemployed than I am at work and they’re able to go for a pint on a Saturday or Sunday night.

Previous 80 page thread Garda Sergeant can't afford food

Generic Dreadhead

Anyone know what a Guards Salary is? Any guards in here? What would one with 10 years experience be on?

mzungu

One of the hacks at the Star having a stab at fiction again I see.

snubbleste

If he's a garda for over ten years, it means he earns gross a minimum of €42,138 basic + allowances.

Guy:Incognito

Cormac... wrote: »

Anyone know what a Guards Salary is?

**** all

Or loads.

Depends on where on the scale. Starting out as a trainee is sub 20k I think. Or was years ago. Its still just under twice what you'd get as a first year apprentice mind.

SmilesInMass

Yeah, I work 3 days a week as it's all my job can give me right now and I'm by no means living it large but I'm doing fine all the same. What kind of lifestyle is he living if that's what he has to do? Seriously doubt his pay package is looking anything like mine as well..

eviltwin

snubbleste wrote: »

If he's a garda for over ten years, it means he earns gross a minimum of €42,138 basic + allowances.

I'm surviving on a lot less than that. I'd like to see his outgoings.

wp_rathead

Cereal? Well for some..

snubbleste

eviltwin wrote: »

I'm surviving on a lot less than that. I'd like to see his outgoings.

Kids, car & food is all the article mentions.

eviltwin

snubbleste wrote: »

Kids, car & food is all the article mentions.

I have those too and so far we've never had to live on cereal. I presume he has a mortgage, that might be part of the problem. I do laugh at his comment about being better off on the dole, he should try it, he'd get a land.

Kalyke

snubbleste wrote: »

TheStar - Cruel reality of life for Gardai

Previous 80 page thread Garda Sergeant can't afford food

Give over.... Substitute Gardai with nurse, teacher, electrician etc... Not to mention the unemployed. Forgive me if I rest my melancholic violin for this one. Unless he wants a hand with the repayments on his "buy to let"(s)..

snubbleste

eviltwin wrote: »

... I presume he has a mortgage..

Ah ah, you cannot presume that. It is not in the article.

People saying they can survive on less, would you be willing to swap jobs with them? If the answer is no, then it means they earn either the right amount or nowhere near enough.

For Forks Sake

snubbleste wrote: »

Ah ah, you cannot presume that. It is not in the article.

Unless he's converted the car into a dwelling, he either has mortgage or rent commitments, which were conveniently omitted.

kupus

Ah the annual poor mouth brigade is ramping up again.

kupus

snubbleste wrote: »

Ah ah, you cannot presume that. It is not in the article.

I think it was when I read it last year and the year before and the one before that....the only thing that changes is the date and time of the article plus a few parts of it

eviltwin

Deleted User wrote: »

People saying they can survive on less, would you be willing to swap jobs with them? If the answer is no, then it means they earn either the right amount or nowhere near enough.

I wouldn't be a guard. Nothing to do with the money though, I just have no interest in it.

snubbleste

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Unless he's converted the car into a dwelling, he either has mortgage or rent commitments, which were conveniently omitted.

ah ah you cannot assume that, it is not in the article :cool:
However, you can assume he gets a rent allowance of €4,018 pa

Going Forward

snubbleste wrote: »

Ah ah, you cannot presume that. It is not in the article.

That's exactly why you can presume it.

anto9

He ''SHOULD''be doing ok at least on E 40,000 plus .Something is grossly wrong with his money management. ( i can guess but wont say as i don't know for sure ) .I am of the opinion (i may be wrong though ) ,that Police in the UK earn a fair bit less .

>>you can assume he gets a rent allowance of €4,018 pa <<...most people working don't get any rent allowance .

Specialun

****as he sits into his 2014 bmw****

As some said it could be a complete fabrication by a reporter knowing it would wind up some people bit like your one in the Sunday independent.

Even if it is true he/she does not represent every Garda some might be doing grand some in-between and some barley getting by but don't let that stop anyone vilifying them all.

enricoh

When is the annual moanfest that is the gra taking place. I can only assume this is to ramp up public sympathy for a big payrise.
Wheel out Paul Williams with a non story about the anger in the force for a few minutes on rte news should help too.
The psni are on a lot less, have a fraction of the allowances n have to check the motor for booby traps every morning.

Buona Fortuna

I'd like to give him a Gardai hug.

anto9

Just saw another longer thread about a Garda Sargent on this Forum ,who can not get by on E65,000 a year plus .Spare me the bull**** please.

Little CuChulainn

Silly article.

joe swanson

Why not quote the whole article instead of a small snippet?


Gives a bit of context.

snubbleste

joe swanson wrote: »

Why not quote the whole article instead of a small snippet? Gives a bit of context.

Because it's ~1000 words.
And I really wanted to concentrate on the cereal aspect.

Pocoyo

The gardai want a bigger piece of the pie after all they are the ones doing Enda Kenny's dirty work.
Shower of morons attending meter installations over serious crime its pathetic,You'd imagine some form
of moral objection would enter their heads they dont give a **** about their duty to the public.

wp_rathead

Pocoyo wrote: »

The gardai want a bigger piece of the pie after all they are the ones doing Enda Kenny's dirty work.
Shower of morons attending meter installations over serious crime its pathetic,You'd imagine some form
of moral objection would enter their heads they dont give a **** about their duty to the public.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

please no Irish Water craic

Ray Palmer

He seems very worried about being caught doing something. There really isn't anything I do while working that I would get fired for. What is he doing?

Nermal

Deleted User wrote: »

People saying they can survive on less, would you be willing to swap jobs with them? If the answer is no, then it means they earn either the right amount or nowhere near enough.

The Garda recruitment process is heavily oversubscribed. We're actually paying them far too much.

seamus

Was there not a similar story in another rag a few months back about two Gardai on €100k ish similarly claiming they were going without food some days? And it turned out the issue was they had to maintain 2 buy-to-let properties on top of their own?

Banjo String

gardai are forced to sleep in their cars

I hope it's their own veh-hic-les.

Pocoyo

''I’ll go as far as to say bullying is rife in An Garda Siochana and those who are doing it are advancing up the ladder at the expense of everyone else.''

Anyone who personally knows a member of the gardai has heard this statement before,Now think about that these are the people policing our streets,They need a radical overhaul, Their conflict resolution skills are appalling,The majority of security guards would have better resolution skills than a large number of the gardai.

BoJack Horseman

We keep hearing about the car sleeping.

Do any officers sleep in beds?

Super-Rush

seamus wrote: »

Was there not a similar story in another rag a few months back about two Gardai on €100k ish similarly claiming they were going without food some days? And it turned out the issue was they had to maintain 2 buy-to-let properties on top of their own?

It was last year I think. It was written from the pov of his wife who said the same about having only cereal to eat some days, while struggling to pay for 3 properties.

major bill

Didnt know the Gards were the only people to suffer cutbacks, changes to their cost of living, sleeping in cars zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz if yer man looked hard enough around his house he prob could do without many things the rest of us had to sacrifice

Dawn Rider

Wonder if this one knows the other two who were so hard done by that they needed to steal money from ATM's?

suicide_circus

The amount of gardai who are also landlords is insane

tastyt

We all know guards, it's not like they live in a different secret land. We all see them and the quality of life they have ain't so shabby. There are a lot of other people with more reason to complain

SEPT 23 1989

I dont believe that aul guff for a second

most gardai i know have a few properties and do nixers on the side

Buona Fortuna

Ray Palmer wrote: »

He seems very worried about being caught doing something. There really isn't anything I do while working that I would get fired for. What is he doing?

Apparently, and this is only what I heard but just to make ends meet he deals a bit of Charlie - I mean they'd get it anyway, where's the harm.

Santa Cruz

Pocoyo wrote: »

The gardai want a bigger piece of the pie after all they are the ones doing Enda Kenny's dirty work.
Shower of morons attending meter installations over serious crime its pathetic,You'd imagine some form
of moral objection would enter their heads they dont give a **** about their duty to the public.

Mmmmmmm pie mmmmmmm!

irishgirl19

He's wage is probably making more than myself and my partners combined wages at the moment and we are still paying rent every month and have a baby on the way. We don't get social welfare.
For that guard to say people on the dole getting more money I don't think is true.
If it was then I'm sure everyone would stop wasting their time working.
I wish I was on his wage! I certainly wouldn't be moaning saying I'm living day to day

Santa Cruz

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

I dont believe that aul guff for a second

most gardai i know have a few properties and do nixers on the side

Whats the problem with a bit of enterprise once they are tax compliant and not whinging?
There are thousands of people with rental properties, doing nixers etc. And those who havent are the usual begrudgers who wont get off their arse and expect society to susbidise them

1800

Young Gardai get paid an absolute pittance and treated like absolute ****e. But that happens to all young people starting out here thats why most of them fcuk off abroad into a functioning and fair society.

I'm not having it that a sergeant 10 years in the force is eating cereal. Whats so pathetic about this is, there are so many things Gardai could complain about so a false story like this does nobody any favours.

Santa Cruz

Super-Rush wrote: »

It was last year I think. It was written from the pov of his wife who said the same about having only cereal to eat some days, while struggling to pay for 3 properties.

The sacrifice will be worth it in the long run

SpaceTime

Is this not an article about the reality of life with a huge mortgage that your can't afford rather than about Garda wages?

Billy86

wp_rathead wrote: »

Cereal? Well for some..

Jokes aside, that's a terrible decision to make. I am assuming being a Gard he is a big enough fella, and cereal is one of the bigger rip offs in any supermarket. To eat enough to constantly keep himself full or close to it, he's got to be running through a reasonable bit of cash. He would do far better shopping around for canned tuna, cheap cuts of meat, etc (you can find most answers on Google here, so working in the days is no excuse) and basing them around rice and cheap, homemade sauces. That and frozen, home-made meals like stews, curries and soups which are all pretty easy to make and way more cost-efficient (as well as nutritious) than bloody cereal.

Also pizzas - you can make a pizza for about 60-70c (cheese and sauce included; chuck in whatever is spare in the fridge or presses for toppings), and can make them in bulk to freeze after. It really grates me seeing people pay €5+ for them in the supermarket, or who frequently pay €15+ or whatever to get them in take aways, then turn around complaining about always being broke.

BoJack Horseman

Yeah, cereal only diet is pricey.
So, I assume he budgets like an idiot.

He'll be regular as clockwork though.