Morale among the Garda/ Police is at an all-time low
By JIM CUSACK and JODY CORCORAN
Sunday February 03 2013
THE family of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe informed garda management that they did not want any politicians, including the Minister for Justice, at the home of the murdered officer, the Sunday Independent has learned.
The widow of the slain garda, Caroline Donohoe, who is herself a garda in Dundalk, is understood to have asked senior gardai to inform Mr Shatter that he would not be welcome.
Last night Mr Shatter confirmed that he had not paid a visit to the family home at Lordship, Bellurgan, in Dundalk, as is customary for a Minister for Justice when a garda loses his life in the service of the State but stated he was "unaware" that the family had taken that position.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said: "The minister is unaware of what is stated and has no comment to make on it. He wishes to emphasise that he believes the family of the late Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe are entitled to respect, privacy and consideration to deal with and come to terms with the tragic loss that they have suffered."
Informed sources have told the Sunday Independent that the family was "deeply traumatised but also deeply angry" at the decision by the Government to go ahead with the closure of 95 rural garda stations the day after the funeral of Det Gda Donohoe.
Det Gda Donohoe's brothers Colm and Martin are gardai, as is his brother-in-law, Caroline Donohoe's twin brother Derek Deloughrey.
Informed sources told this newspaper that Det Gda Donohoe's family live in an isolated community in Co Cavan and that Mrs Donohoe's parents live in countryside near Kilkee, Co Clare.
These informed sources said the family had been angered at the reported remark by Mr Shatter about how many stations he could close "in 10 minutes".
Meanwhile, it has also been learned that the Louth division of the Garda Representative Association is to propose a motion at the GRA's central executive committee tomorrow that an invitation to the annual conference should "not be extended to the Minister for Justice".
Though there have been several instances of protests during ministerial appearances at GRA conferences, this is understood to be the first time a proposal has been made that a Justice Minister should not be invited.
In a further indication of the extent of garda anger, former garda assistant commissioner Martin Donnellan has said that Mr Shatter should "set aside the buzzwords and the weasel words" and give Gardai the resources to do their jobs.
In a hard-hitting article on page nine of the Sunday Independent today, Mr Donnellan, who was forced to retire as an assistant commissioner in 2008 on age grounds, said the garda management's 'smart policing' initiative, supported by Mr Shatter, was "at the root of the breakdown in law and order". He also said that he was "sickened by the sight" of Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams at the Donohoe funeral.
And he hit out at the Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou McDonald, who last week defended the IRA's murder of police officers in the North. Her comments, he said, were "outrageous for anyone, never mind a member of Dail Eireann".
Also in this newspaper today, two frontline gardai, who are currently serving, lay bare what they say is the "spin" and "hypocrisy" behind the 'smart policing' initiative.
One officer with 18 years' experience says: "This brings Killinaskully-style comedy to life."
The other officer, with 23 years' experience, writes of his "shame" and "anger" at the "continuing dilution" of "pro-active" policing.
He says: "Morale in frontline policing in An Garda Siochana is at an all-time low."
Mr Donnellan, who was awarded a Scott medal for bravery in recognition of his actions with six other gardai in 1980, also says: "Morale in the force has never been lower in my memory."
The views of Mr Donnellan and the testimonies of the serving officers expose the flaw that rank-and-file gardai say is at the heart of the Government's approach to policing at a time of budget cutbacks.
Those flaws were highlighted by Fr Michael Cusack at the funeral of Det Gda Donohoe, which was attended by 2,500 serving gardai from across the country last week.
At that funeral, which was attended by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and Justice Minister Mr Shatter, Fr Cusack drew applause at the end of a homily in which he had said: "I think it's a good time for there to be serious reflection by all in this country around the need for further policing. My parents are now living in a rural community in Galway that has no police service.
"It only ever had one guard, but that one guard brought great security. Since he moved, two men in their 80s have had their heads bashed in, one left without hearing or taste for the rest of his life. I see it in the eyes of so many in that village, that they go to bed at night in fear."
Mr Donnellan writes today: "Fr Michael Cusack hit the nail on the head on Wednesday when he spoke of the terrible crimes inflicted on our elderly citizens and of the fear they live in.
"I am a native of Ballymoe, Co Galway, and there were two elderly men beaten up in their home between Ballymoe and Williamstown two months ago.
"The failure to provide the gardai with the proper tools to do their job is a failure of government. But some of the language used by our politicians and by garda management in the aftermath of the murder of Det Gda Donohoe did not impress me personally and not, I believe, members of the Garda.
"I am personally affronted by buzzwords like 'smart policing' and 'stakeholders', which we heard trotted out again in the aftermath of Det Gda Donohoe's murder."
A source in the GRA said: "There is very great anger. Morale has collapsed. There is great camaraderie among young gardai, but morale has collapsed.
"Families of gardai are terrified of what is going to happen when they go on duty."
The GRA is also to discuss a motion proposing that its negotiators withdraw from any further talks with the Departments of Justice and Finance over proposed cuts to allowances and overtime which were announced at the start of the year by the Government.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has already withdrawn from the talks.
Gardai have identified at least eight members of the gang it believes to be responsible for the murder of Det Gda Donohoe, which has been carrying out a series of robberies in the border area.
The 24-year-old leader of the gang – and the man believed to have shot Det Gda Donohoe at close range with an automatic shotgun – is well known to gardai.
He is from south Armagh, near the town of Crossmaglen, and his associates include two brothers and another young man living near Cullaville.
These three are believed to have stolen the VW Passatt from a house in Clogherhead, near Drogheda, three days before the murder.
Gardai have CCTV images of three members of the gang, including Det Gda Donohoe's killer. It is understood the images show clearly that Det Gda Donohoe and his colleague, Det Gda Joe Ryan, were deliberately ambushed.
It is believed that a fourth person, possibly a blond-haired girl in her teens, may have been in the getaway car.
- JIM CUSACK and JODY CORCORAN
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