Fórsa has said ongoing staff shortages and retention issues for the Garda civilian staff it represents are causing significant delays in delivery of services.

The union said it was aware of several issues that were impacting the optimal delivery of service that each Garda Civilian is looking to achieve but is outside of their ability to influence. These are:

• Ongoing shortages of staff can cause significant delays for 999 calls to be answered initially which can cause frustration and panic to build for the caller
• There are issues about repeat nuisance callers who take up a huge amount of time and resources. Some of these nuisance callers can ring up to 1,800 times a day and ring continuously tying up 999 lines
• All calls from the Eastern Division are now put through the 999-system putting even more pressure on the existing call takers
• Call takers are expected to input alarm URNs during shift whilst answering calls which could result in call takers having to restart alarms over and over so they can input calls.

The union said it wanted to relay the dismay and disappointment felt by the Garda Civilian staff in the absence of recognition of the sterling and undervalued work that they do each and every day under extreme pressure while constantly under resourced and frequently undertrained.

Fórsa said the few cursory recognitions do not adequately represent the pressures that the union’s members are under daily through no fault of their own.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Jim Mitchell said the lack of engagement on the issue of staffing and the need to adequately resource the workers who operate in these areas, has led them to feel that the recognition for the work that they do has been lost.

“These are the people who feel the deficits in work practices the most as they are the ones who strive to achieve the highest standards but when they are hampered through no fault of their own they feel let down when their positive efforts aren’t recognised, and further, there is no intention by management or the Department to help improve the delivery of these services to protect our communities,” said Jim.

Jim said Fórsa has written to the Garda Commissioner and has been seeking engagement with the management on several occasions.

The union has said it is available to engage as soon as possible as it is conscious of the nature of the work and its impact on public and community safety overall if these critical issues aren’t addressed on time and in an appropriate manner.

Meanwhile, Fórsa has also raised serious concerns that were reflected across the board amongst the staff side representatives regarding the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill that reached its final stages, without any clarity having been received by the staff representatives as to the employment status of members and the impact of the Bill on workers.

Fórsa had met the then Minister for Justice, Mr. Simon Harris, during which the union was informed that there would be full engagement and that nothing could progress without engaging. However, some matters have served to undermine confidence and there are very real concerns among the union representatives that those terms and conditions that Garda staff currently enjoy could be signed away with little or no engagement.

Fórsa represents more than 3,000 Garda civilian staff employed by the Department of Justice who work in a wide variety of non-policing roles alongside Gardaí.

The union says its Garda civilian members have very deep concerns about provisions in the Bill that will empower the Garda Commissioner to recruit Garda staff directly into the police service rather than to the Civil Service, as is currently the case.

The union has sought urgent engagement but has said no meetings have yet taken place yet.

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