There was a massive increase in the amount of overtime paid compared to last year.
A single Garda earned €49,098 in overtime payments in the first six months of this year, according to new figures released by An Garda Síochána this week.
The figures, released in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request and quoted in a report in the Irish Times, revealed that a sergeant working in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) earned that amount in overtime payments in the period from January to June of this year.
The basic salary earned by a Garda sergeant ranges from €44,725 to €51,385 per annum.
In total, €60.58 million was paid in overtime in the first six months of 2016, with the Dublin Metropolitan Region alone accounting for €26.39 million of that figure.
The figure for the first six months of this year is under €30 million short of the €90 million paid in overtime in the whole of 2016, with the increase being attributed to a significant rise in the number of hours worked (1.17 million to 1.725 million) and a shortage of staff.
Commenting in response to the figures, John O’Keeffe, spokesman for the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said: “The bottom line for the GRA is that overtime is always a short-term stop-gap. It never replaces full-time rostered members deployed permanently.
“Overtime is never the solution. It is the cheapest form of labour. Furthermore, overtime at current levels is a recognition that we do not have adequate police resources. Adequate policing numbers is the only solution – not overtime.”
“An Garda Siochana is just over 13,000 strong now, yet we need a force of 16,000 to police efficiently,” O’Keefe added.
“Governments have found overtime an efficient and cost-effective measure, yet it has serious effects on work-life balance for front-line members.”
Additional funding will be required to fund Garda overtime this year, with the figure well on track to exceed a provision of €88 million set aside in the budget by the Government for 2017.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
