Recent figures show that an RUC superintendent with four years' service in the rank is earning £10,000 to £13,000 more than an officer of equivalent rank in the Garda Siochana. Under the latest pay structure a Garda chief superintendent, the force's most senior operational rank, receives £36,404 on appointment, rising to £43,835 after six years. An RUC superintendent (the Garda equivalent) receives £48,646 on appointment, rising to £59,298 after four years.
An assistant commissioner in the Garda Siochana receives £51,163. And comparisons with other better paid police forces is not the only concern of the Garda's senior management ranks, according to officers.
Over the past 20 years the "relativity" between the pay of a senior officer such as chief superintendent and that of the garda, the officer of lowest rank, has reduced considerably.
In 1969, according to figures compiled by the Chief Superintendents' Association (CSA), a chief's pay was 2.47 times that of a garda. By 1994 it had fallen to 1.66 times the garda's pay.
Senior officers are deeply concerned by diminishing pay differentials. Some say they are preventing good police officers from seeking promotion.
For instance, an officer of inspector rank, who still enjoys overtime and other allowances, can earn more and have a better pensionable income than that of a superintendent, the next-highest rank.
Busy officers of garda and sergeant rank, earning the maximum allowances, can take home pay packets not significantly lower than those of their superiors. Senior officers say there is no comparable situation in the private sector; nowhere outside their service where senior managers with high levels of responsibility are paid virtually the same salaries as lower-ranked employees.
This situation, they say, is damaging the morale essential to maintaining quality of management as the force undergoes major change. Since policing means maintaining order and security in society, anything which affects morale among senior officer ranks is potentially dangerous for society.
In the past two weeks, the CSA has received final adjudication on a pay claim that has been under negotiation since 1990. The association says the final award, giving rises of 6 to 8 per cent, is disappointing and a blow to morale. The adjudication in its claim was discussed at a meeting of the 44-member association in the midlands last Thursday.
At the meeting, officers voted to accept the adjudication board award, as no other course was open at this stage. According to sources, there were strong expressions of disappointment at the way officers had been treated.
The chiefs, normally among the most reserved, loyal and committed rank in the force, see the pay settlement as a signal that their input into the management and policy direction of the force is unrecognised at Government level.
Sources in the CSA say there is now a strong feeling that the Garda conciliation and arbitration machinery, put in place to settle pay claims and resolve disputes, is not being operated in the spirit in which it was intended. Instead, it has become cumbersome and at times frustrating because of the difficulties in processing claims.
The chiefs are the most senior operational managers in the Garda Siochana. Divisional chiefs are responsible for geographical areas covering one or two counties or one of the six Dublin metropolitan areas. Officers of chief superintendent rank head any of the specialist bureaus, such as the prominent Criminal Assets Bureau or the National Drugs Unit.
The chiefs have the highest number of working days of any rank, with 259 per annum.
Their job imposes a quasi-judicial responsibility in that they must decide on the terms of arrest and detention of persons suspected of serious crime. New legislation, which varies the length of time that people can be detained, has complicated this role. Suspected serious drug offenders can be held for up to seven days but this requires regular contact between the chief superintendent and senior State law officials.
In cases of serious crime, such as murder, chiefs have to take operational command and are expected to speak to the media on the force's behalf.
The operational structure of the Garda Siochana means that chief superintendents are not just responsible for police work against ordinary' crime but also against terrorist crime. Responsibility for State security in a Garda division lies with the local chief superintendent, again a role which incurs additional stress.
The chiefs are also expected to attend public functions in their area which, on top of their other duties, further reduces family time.
The promotion to the rank of chief superintendent, as with previous promotions to superintendent, inevitably entails transfer to a different station. One officer is known to have moved home 11 times in the course of his work.
In recent years the chief superintendents and superintendents have implemented changes in their work practices and structures without compensation.
The chiefs, in particular, had a new regionalised management structure placed on them, largely without complaint.
At last Thursday's meeting in Athlone, there were unanimous expressions of disappointment at the previous government's decision to reduce the entrance standards for the Garda Siochana.
As senior managers, the chiefs are known to feel strongly that entry standards should be rising along with all other occupations.