Garda strength at critically low level, superintendents told

The number of gardaí is at a critically low level and the Government’s new recruitment drive will not adequately address the problem, Garda superintendents have warned.

The Association of Garda Superintendents said the rate of retirements from the force and a recruitment embargo which lasted for six years to last autumn meant there were chronic personnel shortages in all divisions of the force.

The association believes the new recruitment process is insufficient to maintain the strength of the force.

"We are not gaining any ground in terms of our overall strength", president of the association Supt Gerry Smith said at its annual conference in Naas, Co Kildare.

He added while he and his colleagues had welcomed the fact there were now 300 new gardaí in training with plans to take in at least 250 further personnel into the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary; more recruits were needed.

The association said only an accelerated recruitment drive would enable gardaí to provide the level of policing demanded by the Irish public.

Supt Smith said as well as the recruitment embargo, and the high level of retirements from the force by those availing of incentivised packages in recent years, almost 400 gardaí had either been promoted to sergeant, taken career breaks or been seconded to government departments, mainly to help investigate social welfare fraud.

“We are now suffering the effects of the embargo on recruitment”, he told conference delegates.

“A figure of 300 is not adequate and district officers are being stretched to their collar to respond to incidents on occasion”, he said.

It has also emerged the Association of Garda Superintendents has lodged a complaint to Dail Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett over what it says have been breaches of Dáil privilege where senior gardaí have been damaged.

Supt Smith said members of his association were very concerned at what they saw as an abuse of the privilege and called on Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald to act on the issue.

He did not detail exactly what comments he was concerned about.

However, Garda sources said there was disquiet over recent comments by Mick Wallace TD (Ind) accusing a serving senior officer of wrong doing.