The President of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has said the pay cuts must be reversed.
Dan Hanley told the Association's annual conference in Galway that he had never seen so much anger among middle-ranking gardaí and he said there must be an end to what he called the ‘demonisation’ of the public service.
The AGSI says the prevailing mood among its members is anger, with pay cuts and pension and income levies the dominant issues at the conference.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern rejected claims that the public service pay and pension cuts were unfair and he said the Government was not in a position to reverse pay cuts.
He was responding to severe criticism of Government policy at the conference.
More than 60 motions are to be discussed at the conference.
Pay, pension, resources, the recession and the problems members face when fighting crime form the basis for most of the discussion.
One motion is that if prison officers take industrial action Garda Sergeants and Inspectors should not step in to do their work.
Sergeants and inspectors are also calling for suitable NAMA properties to be converted to garda district and divisional headquarters.
The AGSI wants members of the Regional Support Units to be in armed mode on a full-time basis and for the Garda Reserve, which officially costs €2m a year, to be disbanded to save money.
There are calls for a restoration of pre-budget pay and conditions and expressions of abhorrence at the Government's u-turn on pay cuts for higher civil servants as well as an examination of how the association could operate a work-to-rule.
Sergeants and inspectors also want new stab vests to replace the current bulky model and all garda cars to be replaced at 160,000km.
Delegates want the 42-day rule for the preparation of a Book of Evidence to be extended and new legislation to regulate horse and livestock fairs.
