The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, has spoken out against a proliferation of "garda" magazines, using the force's name to generate advertising revenue.
In a speech to the Association of Garda Superintendents' annual conference yesterday, the Commissioner pointed out that there were at least six magazines trading on the name of the force and another two planned. In all but one instance the magazines were produced by a private company which paid for the publication through advertising revenue and provided the appropriate Garda association memberships with the resulting magazines free.
There were magazines for representative associations from garda rank up to superintendent; a magazine for the International Police Association; another for retired gardai; and two proposed for the Garda Sports Association and the Garda Museum.
He said he had "very little enthusiasm" for the production of magazines trading on his force's name. "While I recognise the value of good communications for your membership, the method of financing through advertising sales brings an added burden on a public already being called on for support by several similar magazines published on behalf of Garda organisations with profits going to private firms."
The conference heard complaints about pay and that thousands of officers of the lowest rank of garda had higher earnings from overtime and other allowances.
The association president, Supt Pat Diggin, from Ennistymon, Co Clare, said: "No words of mine could properly express the frustration felt by superintendents throughout the force due to the lack of meaningful progress on our pay negotiations."
He said the pay offer from Government made in October last year was "derisory" and promises on settlements had not been met. "We are slowly being forced down a dead-end route and will eventually have to take action to rectify that situation."
Supt John Mulligan, from the Garda College, said the tone of the conference was one of "powerlessness and depression". The association seemed powerless to move on their claim for higher pay.
It was suggested at the conference that superintendents refuse to co-operate with the introduction of new working arrangements and the £50 million Garda computerised information system which is due to be operational this summer.
But Supt Kevin Donoghue, of Kilkenny, said while officers of superintendent rank were frustrated "I don't think we should be going in for idle threats".
Commenting on the industrial action by the rank-and-file members last year, he said: "The `Blue Flu' did an awful lot of damage to the force as a whole. It was most important to maintain standards. I don't think we should be embarking on militancy but carry through our negotiations properly."
Supt Donoghue pointed out that the single allowance payable to superintendents for working weekends was not regarded as pensionable pay while allowances paid to other ranks were included as pensionable income.
Government proposals that solicitors inform the i Garda if they know about illegal financial transactions by their clients were attacked by the president of the Law Society, Mr Patrick O'Connor.
At the conference Mr O'Connor said the proposal was "wrong in principle and contrary to the interests of justice, and unconstitutional".
The proposals, contained in new criminal justice legislation, would require solicitors "to report their clients to the Garda authorities without even being free to inform the client and to maintain and disclose records for use in any proceedings against those clients".
This, Mr O'Connor said, "would undermine the balance of rights in our legal system which is based on the rule of law, and our Constitution."
The proposals to "designate" solicitors along with financial organisations under legislation which requires them to report suspicious or criminal financial transactions was introduced as part of the package of anti-organised crime laws after the murder of the journalist Veronica Guerin.