Gardai now best paid workers in the state - CSO

Pay scales are here:https://www.gra.ie/documents/PayScales.pdf

Any of that pay you would describe as high?

I think most people, the ones I have talked to is said serious understaffing is the issue. Hence why the high number of hours worked per week.

The pay scales for everyones in government/public sector are available and if you researched them(quick google) then you would know that Garda are not highly paid which is the suggestion you are trying to make I think.

If you think the Garda are so well paid then I suggest you go and work for them.

with what garda have to deal with sometimes,they are well underpaid...same for nurses

As above, it's easy to make money with overtime payments.

If the Gardai were fully staffed the wages would come down.

Aren't they working more overtime than ever before to make up for the lower numbers of Gardaí?

I'd like to see the median number of OT hours worked.

They are certainly not overpaid and this topic has come up many times.. but

in general, its neither difficult nor dangerous, in ireland, yes more dangerous than being an office worker, but not a farmer or a builder etc etc

most of it is plodding, monotonous, boring and safe, one of the more dangerous parts is the large amounts of driving being done and thus the change of a crash.

it also had the ability to be rewarding in a way most jobs can't

No doubt somewhat frustrating in parts also, blame the government, but that's the job

because of the numbers quoted above

the main issue with being a garda, is well you are one

its has social repercussions.

The hours could be an issue too, but same as many jobs

They deserve every penny having to deal with the general public.

is it not accepted that wherever pay is reported, in any context its gross not net?

Regardless i wouldnt do it for double the pay, hard job imo.

Here are average weekly earnings by sector:

On a weekly basis, the Gardai are not top.

I'd say the evidence is in the table above.

Every other PS sub-sector has wage fluctuation by about €100 a week over the past 5 years.

Gardai have €500 a week.

That is all allowances and overtime, not basic pay.

Gardai deal with the "general" public.

Can, and do Gardai not still retire with a 18 months tax free lump sum and half salary after only 30 years service?

Is it not a case that between the garda penion and the state pension , they always get 50%?

I think most of our public servants would be quite well paid, were it not for the housing costs a lot of people face in Ireland.

I'd say there's nothing the government would love to do more right now than give generous wage increases to certain groups of public servants that are in high demand, gardai, teachers, GPs etc.

The problem is they'll then have to increases wages across public pay, which will put further massive inflationary pressure on housing.

So many of our problems stem from housing failures. I guess that's what happens when you ignore a decade of warning signs to increase supply!

Is it still the case that when Gardai finish training they're just assigned to another part of the country?

I'd say that's very off putting these days to potential recruits.

I think typically these days people might see AGS as a job for life which they might go for in their late 20's or 30's. At this point they'd likely have a stronger idea of where they want to settle, or ties with partners or kids.

Never heard that in my life about not to bother to study hard.

The requirement have come down but still a decent level of education required so to me they don’t have a point if it was true

Plenty of other professions which don’t have a requirements around study and a lot easier than the Garda and a lot better paid

By the closing date of the competition applicants must:

(a)     have obtained an Irish Leaving Certificate with a grade D3 or O6 minimum in five subjects at Ordinary Level*, or

(b)     hold a minimum of a Level 5 Major award (120 Credits) on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), or

(c)     hold a recognised qualification (at Level 5 or greater), deemed comparable to the above in terms of both level and volume of learning as determined by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI)          

AND

(d)     be proficient in either or both of the following:

Really, sure.

So do you think the gardai are worth the money considering the points I’ve raised, or are you happy enough to criticise them?

If you have to rely on overtime then you are in the wrong job.

The standard reply of every Official Ireland/FF/FG bootlicker on here is to talk about the extra money they can earn from overtime. . . . as if the public sector are the only ones paid for overtime.

I work the same roster as the gardai and belive me it's not easy to do overtime. Your talking about a 60 hour week then.

To be fair I think a lot of people would think that overtime is overtime and is not included in annual salary.

It is usually serving some agenda when salaries are published including overtime ,and usually inaccurate generalizing about the amount of such extra work people actually do. And not everybody works 'overtime '.

Why should people not get paid extra for work that is outside of normal working hours ?

Also maybe the gardaí should be applying for danger money after the abuse they got last week and the aggression many face everyday from the clientele they deal with ?

Its not like they are particularly given the tools to deal with such dangers.

I would not like to see armed police on the street everyday but at the same time it's not on to expect people to face such aggression in their work with either no protection, or no monetary compensation .

I suppose by getting rid of favourable rosters and overtime we are doing the general public a favour ,is that the implication ?

Who would benefit from cutbacks? Not the ordinary person but thugs , criminals or others intent on antisocial or criminal behaviour.

I also question the existence of this thread and why now?

Not during my stint in a branch we didn't and that was during the peak of so called toger kidnappings.

We'd get emails telling us to change routes home/look our for suspicious cars etc but no dollars.

Basic pay is further supplemented by 25%-30% (depending on shift pattern) in allowances. The majority of these allowances are for working "unsocial" hours- nights/weekends/public holidays etc. (Source: Minister Fitzgerald, Parliamentary Question response).

Working these hours is part and parcel of doing a 24-7 job and it is what was signed up for. It is perfectly reasonable that these additional payments are made for working these shift patterns.

The 12 hour COVID working arrangements enhances pay even further - as pointed out by others.