THE biggest garda walkout is looming over in Ireland this Friday as talks continue in a bid to avert strike action.
The last time Ireland suffered 'Blue Flu', the army was on standby, stations closed and some court appearances were cancelled.
Now the garda unions, Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) and Garda Representative Association (GRA) are to team up to walkout on four consecutive Fridays this month.
As An Garda Síochána controls immigration points at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports, incoming passengers to Ireland may also be affected if the industrial action goes ahead.
With the walkout set to start this Friday, this is what you need to know.
When is the industrial action planned for?
For four Fridays in November, including November 4, 11, 18 and 25, members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) and Garda Representation Association (GRA) have planned to cease labour from 7am to 7am inclusive.
The industrial strike period will start 7am on the Friday mornings and finish at 7am on the following Saturday morning.
Who will be on strike?
With 10,500 gardaí in the GRA and approximately 2,000 garda sergeants and inspectors in the AGSI, around 12,500 gardaí are set to strike in November.
The total number of members in An Garda Síochána - not including civilian staff - amounts to 13,606.
Why are gardaí striking?
Pay is at the heart of the issue. The AGSI have asked for garda pay to be restored by 16.5 per cent - the amount it was cut during the recession in Ireland.
The AGSI announced the walkout at a conference in Athlone earlier this month, to coincide with the planned walkout by fellow garda union GRA for "maximum impact."
President Antoinette Cunningham said the decision to strike was not taken lightly.
“We did not take this decision lightly, however we feel we have no choice but to show Government how serious we are about restoring pay for our members," she said.
"We also hope that senior Garda management will respect our decision to take this action."
Who will police the country if over 12,000 gardaí go on strike?
During the last walk out by An Garda Síochána in 1998, nicknamed the Blue Flu, a contingency plan was set in motion.
All training and administrative work was suspended and every available guard was put on operational duty.
Sergeants, inspectors, probationer and student gardaí were on the streets.
Student gardaí were bussed from Templemore and sent to stations around the country with no power of arrest.
General Secretary of the GRA Pat Ennis asked the Garda Commissioner to put contingency plans put in place to minimise risks where members are taking industrial action.
"The ongoing security of the State, protection of life and the gathering of evidence is paramount and must not be compromised, despite the sense of anger, betrayal and disillusionment that resulted in 95 per cent of the GRA membership democratically expressed their preference for industrial action," Mr Ennis said.
He also asked that members attached to the Technical Bureau rostered to work on strike days remain available on an on-call basis to respond to major crime incidents.
Members of the Emergency Response Unit and the Regional Support Unit were also asked to report for rostered duty as normal.
The GRA asked that all trainee and probationer Gardaí not participate in any industrial action.
What is likely to be affected?
While the outcome of this industrial action is unclear, the last time An Garda Síochána walked out, a number of things were affected.
During the 'Blue Flu' on May 1 1998, 5,000 gardaí called in sick to work, the Irish Army was on standby, garda stations closed and some court sittings were cancelled.
However, this time around, there are concerns for the immigration control at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports as An Garda Síochána control the borders at each airport.
A spokesman for the Irish Department of Justice told The Irish Post that the Department are exploring options for the strike.
"The Department of Justice works closely with the Dublin Airport Authority and other stakeholders in relation to immigration control," the spokesman said.
"The options for dealing with the planned garda action are being explored."
"The Department remains focused on engagement and on reaching a negotiated settlement with the Garda associations," he stated.
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