I move:—
That the Gárda Síochána Allowances Order, 1929, which was laid on the Table of the Dáil on Wednesday, 24th April, 1929, be and is hereby annulled.
In moving this motion to-night, I consider that I am performing a public service, as I am fully conscious of the discontent that prevails in the ranks of the Gárda Síochána since the Government's intentions in this connection were made known. Here we have a force established in the arms of a revolution, showered with praises by every member of the Government from time to time and by a great many members of other Parties, and deservedly so.
Six years after its establishment, the members of it find themselves in the position that they do not yet know when they are going to reach bedrock, or what their future prospects are. They are not certain whether their position in the Gárdaí is tenable, or whether it is worth holding on to or not. Five years ago there was an economy campaign started. One of the first bodies of people which the Minister for Finance or the Minister for Justice attacked was the Gárda Síochána. On that occasion the members of that force suffered a very severe decrease in their rates of pay, as well as a decrease in some of their allowances. To-day they are in the same position, not to the same extent perhaps, but to an extent that they can less afford. Immediately prior to the cut in 1924, a Gárda had an allowance of £6 for his bicycle. It was afterwards reduced to £5, and to-day there is a reduction made from £5 to £2 10s. I think everyone will agree with me in saying that having regard to the increased work which a Gárda has to perform, it is absolutely impossible for him to maintain a bicycle in proper order on the amount of money now laid down by the Government he should receive.
Soon after the force was established, the work which a Gárda was called upon to perform was infinitely greater than the work of an R.I.C. constable, but since then his work has increased at least three-hundredfold. In regard to the administration of the School Attendance Act alone, a Gárda in a rural area is on his bicycle almost from daylight to dark in the effort to see that the Act is properly carried out. It is suggested by the Minister, or by the Executive Council, that ? per week is sufficient to maintain his bicycle as it ought to be maintained.
I think everyone will agree with me when I say that the proposal to take away from the Gárdaí the ? a week boot allowance is not alone very, very mean, but an outrage. When the Gárdaí were being recruited, they were told that they were to be supplied with uniforms. I think Deputies will agree with me that the boots are an essential part of their uniform—just as much as any other part of it. When I tell the House that the Government, or the Commissioner, or whoever is responsible, insists that a standard boot should be procured, and that it is against the regulations for the Gárdai to have a patch on their boots, or boots that are not in a suitable condition, I am sure the Deputies will also agree with me in saying that the proposal to cut down this allowance of ? per week is certainly an outrage. In 1924 when the pay of the Gárdaí was reduced, the late Minister for Justice, Mr. Kevin O'Higgins, met the representative body of the Gárdaí and made them certain promises. He gave them an assurance that there would not be any change in their conditions so long as the cost of living figure varied from 70, at the lower limit, to 100 at the higher limit. In view of the fact that the cost of living figure for the six months ending December, 1928, was 178, and that for the current six months it is 180, I believe that Deputies will agree with me in saying that this is a deliberate breach of faith on the part of the Government, because we must assume that the late Minister for Justice was speaking on behalf of the Government.
During the discussion on the Estimates here in 1926 the Minister for Justice, in answer to some suggestions that were made that some of the allowances of the Gárdaí should be cut, made the same statement and gave the same assurance. That assurance can be found in the records of this House in the debates that took place on the Estimate. I think we are all agreed that if we are to have a police force it should be placed in an independent position. I am not going to suggest that the present force is corrupt in any way, but at the same time a force which is not properly paid and which considers that it is not being properly treated is subject to corruption. The treatment that is being meted out to the Gárdaí now might tend to corrupt, if not the whole force, at least some members of it, and the Government must keep that point of view in mind. In the Six Counties the position, in so far as the Royal Ulster Constabularly is concerned, is the same as was the position of the Gárdaí in 1924. The pay is the same as it was then, in accordance with the deliberations of the Desborough Commission. The members of that force have, I think, a cycle allowance of £3 18s., with a mileage allowance of 2d. per mile. I understand that the rates there are considerably higher in proportion than the rates for the Gárdaí which at the moment are being cut.
When speaking on economies, and when speaking of the Gárdaí Vote, people forget altogether that a great amount of the Estimate—I think it is £1,588,000 this year—is used in the interests of other Departments. The Department of the Minister for Agriculture has used the Gárdaí for taking the various census returns of production, and things of that kind. The Minister for Education has used the Gárdaí practically every day of the week, and in that connection there are perhaps two or three Gárdaí employed in every area. The Minister for Local Government has used them for the compiling and checking of jurors and voters lists. I think it is only common justice that the expenses in that connection should be charged to the particular Department for which the Gárdaí are functioning in any particular way, and when speaking of the Gárdaí Vote being at a certain level we should take that into consideration.
As a disciplinary force the Gárdaí are at the mercy of the Government. They have a representative body, but as far as I understand as regards that representative body, things are cut and dried, and there is a fait accompli before the representative body is allowed to say very much. In that connection, I would say that in my opinion an illegal action has been done by the Government in decreasing these allowances, which are now under consideration. One would think they would have waited until the statutory period of twenty-one days had elapsed, when they knew a motion of the kind I am moving to-night was to be under consideration. I would like to hear what defence the Minister for Justice has to make in that connection. The allowances to the Gárdaí are made to cover unavoidable expenditure. One would like to ask how the Minister expects that the Gárdaí would do the duty they are expected to do in a rural area without a bicycle? I understand that so far as the Gárdaí are concerned there is a regulation preventing them from employing a motor car or any other vehicle inside a twelve-mile radius, so that it is absolutely necessary, especially for Gárdaí in a rural area, that a bicycle should be in use for practically the whole day. It is impossible to expect that a sum of ? a week would be sufficient to maintain it as it should be maintained.
Certainly, the Gárdaí may be costing too much so far as the country is concerned, but I think it would be far better if the Minister, or the Executive Council, were to permit of a certain number of the Gárdaí resigning, as I believe there are parts of the country where there are too many Gárdaí, and treat them as they have treated the officers in the Army. A great number of them are discontented on account of the uncertainty of their position, and I believe that as regards economy the same result could be brought about as in the case of the Army. If we are to have a contented police force the Ministry should announce that we have got down to bed-rock so far as the pay and other conditions of the force are concerned. In that connection, I believe the country would be behind the Gárdaí.
What was the position when the Gárdaí were established? I am not going to refer to political matters. I hope our friends on the left will support me in this matter and not view it from a political viewpoint— because I daresay there is a certain amount of animus in some of their minds—but from the point of view of workman and employer. The country was in the arms of revolution, and every robber and criminal in the country took advantage of the position that prevailed and immediately set himself up as a menace to the country. Robberies were wholesale. As a matter of fact, a great number of people thought we would never reach a normal state of affairs. We know how the Gárdaí worked, and we have given them credit for bringing the country back to a normal state in a shorter period than we thought possible. The Government who established the Gárdaí, and the Party associated with the Government, praised the Gárdaí, and justly so, for what they had done. In this matter they should reconsider their decision and give back to the Gárdaí what they had robbed them of, and I do not think that "robbed" is too strong a word. The Gárdaí are nobody's children. They are a disciplined force, and they cannot take advantage of the channels which would be afforded to the ordinary working people in the State. Because of that I think the Government have taken a very mean advantage of the situation. I urge that members of all Parties, if they are sincere in the praise they have showered on the Gárdaí, should support me in this resolution and get the allowances restored to the Gárdaí at the old rate.