The dispute over the new Garda computer system looks set to continue after the rejection of a proposal by the Garda Representative Association that a 39-hour working week be introduced.
Rank-and-file gardai are refusing to operate the £40 million system, PULSE, which was turned on at midnight last Monday.
After a meeting last week, the Government refused demands from the GRA for additional productivity payments to work the system.
Yesterday, the GRA said it had put forward what it described as a non-pay proposal. Department of Justice officials rejected the suggestion. Last night a Department spokesman said: "The 39-hour working week proposal would cost money as it would have overtime implications." He made it clear that if there was to be any breakthrough the move would have to come from the GRA.
"Everybody would like to see the matter settled. We will now just have to wait and see if the GRA have any other suggestions to make to resolve the impasse. However, any proposals will have to be in the context of not going beyond the present public service pay policy," he said.
No more meetings were planned between the two sides. The Government was not going to put money on the table, the spokesman said.
The GRA general secretary, Mr P.J. Stone, said yesterday it understood the Government's concerns over public service pay policy.
"So we have put forward some non-pay proposals, including the introduction of a 39-hour week for gardai, which applies to all other workers in the public service," Mr Stone said.
He added that it was imperative that they found a better way of dealing with industrial relations issues in the Garda Siochana. Over recent years there had possibly been too many disputes and they needed to put in place structures which could nip a lot of these potential difficulties in the bud. In this regard, they had asked the Government to reconsider its position on the establishment of a consultative council for the force, which was proposed nine years ago.
Mr Stone said that ordinary garda members were anxious to see the dispute resolved as soon as possible. Eighteen months ago gardai received an increase above the Government pay guidelines of over 13 per cent, including a payment under Partnership 2000 and 2 per cent against future productivity.
This followed the Blue Flu action. Yesterday, on RTE radio's This Week, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, reacted to the proposal of the 39-hour week by saying there could be no question of going beyond the adjudication award. Asked if he thought there should be a little movement as the gardai had rejected the offer on the table, the Minister said: "I don't accept that what Mr Stone is offering is very small. Less hours' work for the same pay amounts to the same thing - an increase beyond what was agreed."
He said Mr Stone knew his association had the option of putting the matter before the Garda Conciliation Council, and that was a matter for him and his organisation. On the same programme, Mr Stone said: "My people want to embrace new technology but the difficulty is that with such a new system, it would fundamentally change policing." Asked if they were being greedy, he said "certainly not greedy. We are trying to be practical in terms of new working arrangements and trying to get our base rate right in terms of pay."