As Gardaí are not permitted to strike, they express their dissatisfaction with pay by calling in sick.

5,000 members of the force called in sick on a day that will be remembered as 'the blue flu'. 68% of the force in Dublin and as much as 100% in other parts of the country didn't show up for work. As Gardaí are not permitted to strike, they were expressing their dissatisfaction with pay by calling in sick in the first work stoppage in the history of the Garda Síochána.



Paul Reynolds reports for RTÉ News on 1 May 1998. As part of a contingency plan, the army is on standby, some stations are closed and some court sittings cancelled. Garda Headquarters says that it sympathises with its members, but is disappointed by the level of support for the protest.