ASSOCIATION OF GARDA SUPERINTENDENTS' CONFERENCE:GARDA SUPERINTENDENTS have warned of a possible "brain drain" in the force if early retirements continue following the Government's public service cutbacks.
President of the Association of Garda Superintendents (AGS) Martin Shanahan said morale among senior officers was low and early retirements from the rank were increasing as a result.
He told delegates at the association’s annual conference that of the 181 superintendents in the force, 101 were eligible to retire immediately if they wished. “I pose the question: ‘What happens if these members do decide to go?’ ”
Supt Shanahan said 11 superintendents had decided to retire early since the start of the year.
If this continued, coupled with the public sector recruitment and promotions moratorium, “management levels” would be difficult to maintain and front-line policing would suffer.
Already some existing vacancies had not been filled. Five inspectors approved for promotion to superintendent rank “are in a state of limbo” in relation to their promotions.
Mr Shanahan added that because of accelerated recruitment to the Garda in recent years the age profile of the force was very young, with 43 per cent of all members having five years’ service or less. These young members needed guidance and supervision.
“The requires a full complement of officers at superintendent rank to ensure that we manage the force effectively,” he said, in remarks addressed to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern.
“It must be remembered that Judge Morris and others have laid responsibility squarely on the shoulders of superintendents for all operational, management and statutory functions in their areas of responsibility. We cannot leave such posts vacant.”
Mr Shanahan said expenditure cuts were “particularly regrettable” because those who had most benefited from the boom years had contributed to the crisis by greed and mismanagement but “continue to escape censure”.
Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy told delegates there was “no doubt” that the public sector moratorium on recruitment and promotions presented difficulties for An Garda Síochána and other organisations.
However, he was in talks with Mr Ahern to see “what can be achieved” for the Garda.
“I would like to see positions filled which hold statutory responsibility such as district officers and detective superintendents.”
The AGS one-day conference in Westmanstown, west Dublin, also heard concerns about the operation of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc), which investigates complaints against Garda members.
Supt Shanahan said 50 per cent of all complaints – which number more than 2,000 per year – received by Gsoc were referred to the Garda for investigation by superintendents.
This was despite Gsoc having been established to replace the old Garda complaints board, which was criticised because it used members of the force to investigate public complaints against gardaí.
Mr Shanahan said his association was opposed to efforts by Gsoc to secure legislative changes which would result in even more complaints being referred to superintendents for investigation.