A good state job and a big pension

No sense working 40+ years in a job that doesn't suit just to spend 20+ years with a bit of spare cash.

Anyone can get a large pension pot, just make a plan and stick to it.

I would say the paperwork involved these days as a ‘on the beat’ Garda is crippling. It’s all above being Transparent and covering the States arse.

And then having to deal with pricks who want to video record every conversation you have with them.....

and it MUST be soul destroying arresting a lad with 58 previous convictions to see him out in an hour with 59 convictions

NOPE.... not for me these days.

Do they still base the pension lump sum on final year earnings?

They had a great stroke going year's ago where for the final year they would work about near 70 hours per week .

They would work a normal day and then get a soft job like sit in the car when brinks or securior would be delivering cash to the banks with the army. Might be only for detectives.

One big USP is that for someone with ambitions to work in policing it's the only game in town without emigrating.

There is always a steady stream of applicants who are all well educated young people.

They have obviously taken the terms and conditions of employment into consideration.

Do you think they should cover 24/7, 365 days a year, with no allowances for unsocial hours?

If they have problems with numbers now, I'd like to see the numbers prepared to work for that money!

It's not an "either, or" scenario.

There are plenty of jobs with good pay, conditions and pension schemes

Basic pay is also supplemented by allowances. e.g. a guard will earn 25-29% of basic extra from just working their standard roster pattern. This is due to working nights/weekends/public holidays etc.

I wouldn't like to work nights, weekends etc but the guards are well compensated for doing so.

ive got it checked for myself and my garda pension will be 9k a year when i retire, its terrible after the service put down and stress, to a job like no other

Not true but a common misconception in certain segments of society. I was raised with that misconception - working class family in a midlands town. It was either cushy public sector job or break your back in factories/retail for no pension and low wages.

It was only after I left college that I started meeting all these people working in pharma, tech and finance who had much better pensions, private health care, great pay, great perks like free gyms and 'lifestyle allowances' of a few grand a year. I said sure why not join them and I work in tech myself, not a developer on 6 figures or anything like that but my pay, pension and terms and conditions are much better than any public job at the same level. Happy out and tip my hat to anyone willing to go into teaching or the Gardai or into public facing civil service jobs which are very poorly paid for the abuse.

I think the post 2011 conditions are not right at all and the pensions people will get will not cover expenses for anyone who doesn't own property. 9K a year, 15K a year, 20k a year doesn't matter.......all poor pensions for the years out in and all require you to own a home and ideally have a partner with another income. There's 30 year olds in Google and Salesforce on 150K doing jobs that noone can describe in plain English, not the norm and far from it but if people want to moan about overpaid people with fat pensions and cushy numbers it's not a Garda or someone in the passport office - not anymore and not by a long shot.

I see you haven't stopped making up **** and lying about the gardai.

There's no threshold, you pay 12% (new entrants) of your gross pay into your pension. It's not tax, there's no allowance or limit before you start paying. I'm baffled where you even get that from. Your ass probable.

25% allowances just from doing your normal working roster? Would ya **** off. Sunday and public holiday allowance, yes they are good. Nights and Saturdays are only worth pennies on the dollar. Saturday allowance fyi is a flat 15 euro!

The amount of applicants doesn't mean it's a great job or overpaid. It means there's a lot of people out there that believe in doing the job because it's a public service job. They are also the people who have absolutely no idea about the actual job so hardly the experts to ask.

And if you factor in overtime as I know you like to do, be sure to do the same with whatever job you compare to the gardai and show is the hourly comparison.

When you next compare to another European force, be sure to also compare average income and cost of living. Cause I know that's another trick you like to pull.

That is for standard members of the SPSPS.

The fast accrual members pay more, but of course they don't need to work as many years.

Can't be arsed

First you say the Garda pension is 9k, then you say it is 15k.

The 9k is wrong.

15k could be correct, I don't have time to check it now.

+13k approx SPC = 28k in total

Read and digest my message properly. It's 14 to 15k if you can complete 30 yrs service, I won't get the full 30 years service, as such mine is 9k. If you're over 30 joining, the pension is far worse again.

It's 15k now. Old pension, that I am on, had a built in top-up until you qualified for the OAP. That's gone now.

Old pension that's already retired get a good pension but don't qualify for state pension. 1995 to 2012 get the Garda pension and a top up until 65 then you get the state pension. After 2012, basic pension only and no top up, until 65 then you can also claim the state pension.

I think the top-up you are referring to is known as the supplementary pension, which is payable until the SPC starts at age 66, subject to certain conditions.