Retired Garda given permission to challenge Garda commissioner over Irish-speaking allowance

High Court Reporter

A retired garda sergeant has been given High Court permission to challenge an alleged failure to decide on an application to restore his Gaeltacht allowance, which he claims affects his pension entitlements.

Paul Wallace, of Burtonport, Letterkenny, is taking an action of judicial review against the Garda Commissioner over what he claims is their failure or refusal to determine his application to have the allowance restored to him following his January 2023 application.

Mr Wallace is also seeking a declaration from the court that the alleged continued failure to restore or even decide the matter is “unlawful” in that it breaches the respondent’s obligation to determine financial issues.

It is also submitted that it results in Mr Wallace being unable to pursue any internal appeal, which he argues is in breach of fair procedures.

Mr Wallace states in his court papers that he was attested as a Garda in 1985, was allocated to Monaghan Garda Station and was promoted to sergeant in November 1993. He was allocated to Glencolmcille Garda Station in Donegal that month.

He submits that he was transferred to Letterkenny in June 1997 and then to Bun Beag in November 2000. Glencolmcille and Bun Beag are in Gaeltacht areas in Co Donegal.

Mr Wallace accepted the position of Divisional Crime Prevention Officer in November 2002 and was transferred to Letterkenny.

There his role included giving interviews in Irish to print and broadcast media – TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta having studios in Donegal - as part of a service to the entire county, including Gaeltacht islands inhabited by Irish-speakers.

At the time of his training, his competency in Irish was judged to be at 63 per cent - this rose to 82 per cent in 2003.

Mr Wallace was in receipt of the allowance for four years from 2003 and in 2007 and applied for its restoration in 2007 but was refused on the basis that Letterkenny was not designated as a Gaeltacht area at the time.

In August 2020, however, Letterkenny was designated as a ‘Gaeltacht service town’ and the applicant claims he had given service to the Gaeltacht community since 2002.

He reapplied for allowance consideration in January 2023 but retired in March 2024 without, he claims, any update from Garda HQ over his application.

Mr Wallace took his Garda pension which did not include his allowance, resulting in, he claims, him being deprived of €8,708.17 from his one-off gratuity payment upon retirement and €249.38 a month from his regular pension.

Mr Wallace claims that An Garda Síochána is under a duty to exercise statutory powers in a "prompt and reasonable manner" in terms of the rights of people to fair procedures.

“On any analysis, the respondent [the Garda Commissioner] has not acted promptly or reasonably in failing or refusing to take the decision in issue,” he submits.

At the High Court on Monday, Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty granted the application for leave brought by Paul McGarry SC, for Mr Wallace, and adjourned the matter to October.