The president of the Garda Representative Association has said members are angry and disillusioned and feel betrayed by both the Government and the force.
Dermot O'Brien said members have taken a 25% pay cut since 2009 and it is time now for it to be restored.
He said a "perfect storm" is gathering for gardaí and other members of the public service who feel it is time to "restore and reward".
Mr O'Brien also said the fact that gardaí are unarmed made them the "envy of the policing world".
However, he said society is getting more dangerous and as a result there is a need to arm gardaí with an "intermediate form of force", such as a stun gun.
Successive governments and garda commissioners have consistently refused to countenance any change in the unarmed status of gardaí.
Pay and the future of An Garda Síochána as an unarmed force are among the areas of concern expected to be discussed at the conference, which begins in Killarney this evening.
The GRA represents over 10,000 gardaí.
Gardaí in border counties are calling on the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner to immediately address what they say is the chronic lack of 24-hour armed cover and frontline operational gardaí nationwide.
Two gardaí, Adrian Donohoe and Tony Golden, have been shot dead in Co Louth in the past three years.
Gardaí in Dublin are seeking a pay allowance based on the cost of living in the city and, along with gardaí in Kildare, want those who have joined the force in the past three years to have equal pay and allowances with their older colleagues.
