Your experience with the Gardai

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

You're way off. Michael McDowell is a barrister, not a solicitor. Starting salaries for newly solicitors outside Dublin just might be around €40k. 10 years experience in private practice in Dublin would be closer to €100k.

i know he is a barrister , i just didnt want to be a pedantic pete

it is you who are way off if you think most solicitors are on 100 k after ten years

opinionated3 wrote: »

Certain Gardai made over seventy thousand euro in overtime last year outside of their normal salary. This for a force that has a piss poor record in actual crime fighting i.e burglaries etc but seemingly spends most of its time checking tax and insurance and generally just earning a bit extra for revenue. If the system that allows those sorts of payments is broken, fair enough, it needs fixing. But there is no way anyone will convince me that there isn't an inherent and real credibility problem with this" force".

its a goldmine for people who are mediocre and wouldnt come close to those earnings were they to do anything else , most would be labourers on building sites were they not wearing a uniform

its not wonder the force is always oversubscribed with applications

Jakey Rolling wrote: »

Nothing but positive experiences in my few interactions with them - passport docs, checkpoints, event management.
Showed a real interest when I called in to report a dangerous driver yesterday, and followed up to confirm they had spoken with the individual.

your direct experience is minimal

i had no experience with them either until i was twenty six , then a well connected man moved in close to me and began making false accusations as a way of engaging in a land grab , the guards lied for this guy in court even after he left me in A+ E , they searched my house for a stun gun which the blow in accused me of pulling on him after he left me with two black eyes

that was in 2005 , they then summonsed my widowed mother to court for the crime of paying a man to cut the hedges , he accidently cut a little of this guys hedge and your man claimed it was mallicious damage to trees , my mother never had to go to court in the end as the guy must have been surprised the boys in blue would do his bidding to that degree and dropped the charges in the end

in 2011 i spent four hours being questioned in a station for the crime of buying a can of coke , the same guy accused me of making a threatening gesture towards him outside the shop and that i followed him in , i never even saw him but we were both in the store at the same time as cctv showed , anyway i had a top criminal solicitor this time round and picked a nice spot on the wall during the interview and refused to answer a single question bar what my name was , corrupt seargent who interviewed me called me two months later to say no further action would be taken

corrupt to the core they are

mojesius wrote: »

Generally, I find them helpful. Wish there was more traffic cops to deal with the god awful driving and road rage on Irish roads.

Had one bad experience years ago, Garda in a jeep undertook me going onto a one way, one lane street nearly driving me off the road (unmarked, plain clothes, no siren) who then pulled me over and blamed me for being in the wrong lane, but they were in the wrong lane (lane to turn left only). When I asked if he'd like to walk with me back to the junction to see the road markings/arrows, he told me 'not to be so smart missy' and that he'd 'have me up in front of a judge so fast it would make my head spin'. Horrible fcuker he was, so aggressive. It was 10 years ago and I was young enough, so took it on the chin but in hindsight i should have got his badge number or at least asked to have seen a badge.

guards will set out to harm you if you dont show them enough deference , they love two things

1. having their egos massaged

2. easy targets

Gemma Important Painting wrote: »

With all due respect that's nonsense.
Since starting driving I've been pulled for speeding, been stopped at checkpoints, dealt with them roadside at an accident, had to call them to violent situations, handing in wallets/handbag that I found, and each time I've interacted with them they've all been respectful and pleasant.
You have had some sh1t experiences but it's not an accurate representation of the entire force.

And TBH if you're approaching them with an attitude because you have no respect for them, they're not going to reciprocate with the utmost respect either.

ive always been respectful to them and i still am , i always address them by their title as i do with a doctor etc , i believe they are a corrupt org like fianna fail are but i still am always civil

i had two uncles served in the guards but of course were in a different part of the country , my problem was i had a feud with someone who had pull very high up in the force , local rank and file often have to ignore wrong doing by people who are connected to guards higher up the chain , while you might sympathise that they are only following orders from up on high , they are complicit in this corruption by discharging corrupt practices

the majority of guards tolerate corruption even they themselves are not profiting from it or the root of it