Gardai now best paid workers in the state - CSO

I haven't read all of this but here's my two cents as a garda:

I'm at the top scale for garda rank with 23 years service. I am on target to earn over 100k this year inclusive of all allowances and overtime. Working nights, weekends and holidays including Christmas just for clarity. I earn more than my superintendent because he is on a salary and not per hour. I would suggest I work more too but I couldn't prove it. He wouldn't work nights, weekends and holidays normally but the likes of paddy's day he would.

To get to that number I am averaging 17 hours overtime PER WEEK. Some weeks more than others of course. So my average worked per week hours are 57. This is well over the 48 hour maximum for most workers.

Not all overtime is voluntary, court is mandatory, staying on at shift end to deal with a case is mandatory. I would say 50 hours a month are voluntary for myself, estimated.

The pension is good for me, joining now? Not so much. New recruits must work until 55 or 30 years, whichever comes last. If you join at 20, you are staying until 55 still. You don't get the state pension until 65 nor do new s recruits get the 'bridging' pension that I do. Most will Probably need to stay until 60 or get another job when they retire.

I'm not gong to argue the numbers or if it's worth it. I'm just giving you the numbers so you can see for yourself.

Underpaid? Overpaid? That's personal opinion. All I know is i still struggle to pay the bills and cover my kids courses, clubs, etc. I would be fcked without overtime unless my wife worked full time as well but that would mean child minders after school so would aim need overtime

If a garda did a day overtime every week it would be a 70 hour week for them. I doubt doubt all of them did overtime every week. It wouldnt be much of a life outside of work.

I am not sure what relevance the salaries in Spain have for us here. Anyway, it is good to have a bit of honesty from a state worker rather than the usual obfuscation (using net salary, not including allowances that everyone gets etc). The 100k salary is very decent here, even if the hours are long. Most higher paid (and 100k would come in this bracket) would be salaried positions with significant additional unpaid time expected. I know at least in the tech industry it would be common to work extra hours most days, I don't know anyone who works 9-5. My own typical day would be 7-6:30, although IIRC my contract is 9-6 with an unpaid lunch hour or something.

Not everyone gets all, or the same allowances.

You get allowances based on work, and hours, you actually do. And you get paid overtime for overtime hours you actually do.

Hence basic salary pay is the only useful comparator - how do people still not get this?

We had Garda on here saying he got 100K but who complained "The pension is good for me, joining now? Not so much. New recruits must work until 55 or 30 years, whichever comes last".

I told him his pension was what those in the private sector could only dream of.

After 30 years Gardai can get a tax free lump sum of 18 months salary plus a monthly pension amount much higher than many people earn while actually working.

It would cost well over a mlllion in contrubutions to buy the pension package that Garda is on. Defined benefit pensions - esp for such a young retirement age - are something extremely few in the private sector, not even those on say €150,000, could afford to buy.

Like Eddie Hoobs speaking back in 2006 just before crash, I think in a few decades we will all remember the time that some Gardai complained their average €82,000 earnings was not enough, or cribbing about the hours etc.

I know tons of people working longer hours than Gardai but they are not on 82,000 or have a golden pension to look forward to.

Ireland isn't Spain. So I don't see why you have compared a few times now to Spain?

The reason why Garda don't join is because they are not allowed enough people to cover all of Ireland. Plus when they are people don't want to be a Garda, spat on, abused all day, recorded on stupid phones etc etc etc

In terms of teachers, I suggest you go into a class room full of 30 kids, wait around for a few hours and see why a lot of people will never be teachers.

But the poster said it is VOLUNTARY overtime!!

@lbunnae a hape of kids that he never sees. How about having a normal amount of kids and not scraping by on 100k+ a year?

Where does the wife's salary go? Doesn't that count as household income? It's a perfectly adequate salary for a normal family, normal families thrive on much less. This guy is probably most likely on the verge of a burnout and not doing a very good job for the taxpayer but it's grand because he's earning a small fortune in overtime and can just about afford to keep the wife (sic) in children and horseriding lessons. You can bet there's a detached stone mansion in the mix there too 🙄.

Routine overtime should not be a thing, voluntary overtime should DEFINITELY not be a thing. We don't allow surgeons or pilots do it, someone who is dealing with the worst of the public and supposedly keeping society safe should not be running on fumes routinely in order to keep up with the Joneses.