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Tue, 03 Oct, 2023 - 08:22

Cormac O’Keeffe, Cianan Brennan, and Tadhg McNally

Two main pillars of the country’s justice system begin industrial action on Tuesday, with criminal barristers and gardaí withdrawing services to varying degrees amid ongoing disputes.

Most frontline Garda members will begin refusing voluntary overtime from today in part of an ongoing dispute with the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris over rosters.

The refusal to do overtime will continue for four Tuesdays, including Budget Day on October 10 and Halloween, days traditionally associated with heavy overtime hours.

Criminal barristers, meanwhile, will down tools totally in what’s being described as an “unprecedented” action, aimed at restoring legal aid fees to levels not seen since before the economic crash at the end of the 2000s.

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Barristers will picket the various criminal courts around the country today, with most expected to don their professional robes while doing so. They argue that all other sections of the public justice system have had their pay restored over the past 15 years except them.

The Courts Service of Ireland said it is not in a position to say what impact the barristers’ action will have.

While some Circuit Court sittings will continue as planned, the Central Criminal Court will not be sitting.

At least one marquee case is set to be postponed as a result of the strike - the appeal of Aaron Brady, the man convicted of the murder of Garda Detective Adrian Donohoe, shot dead during the robbery of Lordship Credit Union in Co Louth in 2013.

Helen McEntee said that Commissioner Drew Harris assured her that there will still be a full complement of gardaí despite the planned industrial action.

Commenting ahead of the industrial action by gardaí, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said it is “not right to say that nobody is engaging and nobody is talking” to garda associations on their grievances.

“The Garda Commissioner is meeting with the GRA, he’s meeting with the AGSI (Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors), with superintendents and the chief superintendent in individual meetings this week,” Ms McEntee said.

“What's really clear here is everybody has the same objective. It's that we negotiate a new roster, that we don't stay on the current covid roster, nor do we stay on any previous rosters for any length of time,” she said, adding that Mr Harris had “assured” her that there will still be a full complement of gardaí despite the planned industrial action.

However, Brendan O'Connor, the leader of the Garda Representative Association, said the chances of getting a breakthrough in the dispute are “quite bleak” ahead of a planned wider withdrawal of services next month.

“Some of the utterances in public, both from the commissioner and from the minister are not helpful to the situation,” Mr O’Connor said.

In particular, he cited recent comments from the commissioner about being on the receiving end of bias and sectarianism from comments on social media.