The head of the AGSI says the public wouldn't raise an eyebrow if Gardaí were given a pay rise.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors will hold its annual conference in County Meath today, and it's expected that salaries will top the agenda.
Public service pay has been slashed by 14 per cent since the economic crash and Gardaí claim the Government promised to end the cut backs once the economy turned the corner.
General Secretary of the AGSI, John Redmond spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning and he admits the changes may not happen overnight.
He stated: "We've come in for a lot of criticism but you can't leave aside the good work that people do as well, as evidenced in that good work by that young guard in the Graham Dwyer trial.
"There's good work going on every day, we certainly don't want to lose the consent we have from the public to allow us to police their communities but we want to be able to provide a professional police service."
You can listen to his full interview here:
Meanwhile, middle ranking Gardai will this week hear calls for the Garda Ombudsman, the Garda Inspectorate and the Policing Authority to be merged.
It's another one of the motions up for discussion at the annual conference today.
