Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has insisted the Garda is well-placed to manage a potential peak in retirements in the coming months that could mean 8 per cent of the force take early retirement at a time when recruitment is frozen.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors has warned policing will suffer if hundreds of members depart.
Responding to media reports warning that 1,200 of 14,000 Garda members could be retired by next February, Mr Shatter said the scaling down of the Garda force had been planned and publicly known for many months.
Cost-cutting plans to cut the force to 13,000 by the end of 2014 had been agreed by the previous Government as part of Ireland’s bailout deal with the EU and International Monetary Fund.
As part of that plan, the schedule for cuts in Garda numbers involved reducing the force to 13,500 by the end of this year. “The reductions are to be achieved through retirements,” he said.
Mr Shatter was reacting to news reports broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 and ahead of a similar broadcast on the Garda to be aired on Prime Time last night.
Prime Time said it had seen a classified report on retirements prepared by Garda Headquarters for senior officers around the State. The report suggested as many as 1,200 members would be eligible to depart before the end of next February.
Any public service worker who retires before that date does so on full pension. However, for those retiring after the February cut-off point, recent public sector pay cuts will be reflected in their pensions.
This has led to speculation that many of the 1,200 Garda members who already have 30 years' service and are eligible to retire will do so before February.
Mr Shatter moved to play down fears over the size of the force this morning. He said the Garda had fewer than 13,000 members in 2006 and few problems occurred and that at the height of the Troubles there were only 10-11,000 members.
"I can give an absolute assurance that the gardaí which is an extremely talented force will fully meet their duties," he told RTÉ Morning Ireland. "Frontline Garda services will be provided and continue and the crackdown on organised crime…will be maintained."
Mr Shatter said he could not say if stations would close as it was ultimately an operational decision to be made by Garda Commisisoner Martin Callinan.
"It isn't simply an issue of numbers - be it members of the force or Garda stations. What is absolutely crucial is smart policing, investigative skills, reliable intelligence and technological and forensic support," he said.
"I have the greatest faith in the talent of the Garda force and the well organised manner the Garda commissioner is addressing these issues…to assure people will be well up to meeting these challenges."
Mr Shatter yesterday said it could not be assumed that all of those who were eligible to retire early would do so. If there were departures, there were many able young Garda members capable of assuming lead roles. He said the report on retirements by headquarters was simply a memo suggesting preparation for the worst-case situation.
Other justice sources said that because Garda members can retire from age 50 – but can stay until 60 if they wish – there is always a large number of officers eligible to depart at any specific time. “Having 1,200 eligible to go is nothing new. But we saw retirements jumping from 300 a year for years to 800 in 2009 when pay cuts came in, so the same thing is certainly possible again.”
Association president Aidan O’Donnell said he was concerned so many members might leave. He believed frontline policing would suffer and warned of a brain drain from the force.
“Many members are considering the option of retirement because of further reductions in pensions and gratuity next year. If that happens it will mean a sudden drop in the force of 8 per cent, which would be very serious,” he said. “All areas will see even fewer gardaí than at present – and the force is already running down because of the moratorium and more retirements.
“The retirements would mean that the force would be losing a substantial amount of experience and knowledge, and many units would be operating with no supervisor.”