Crime & Law

Garda numbers need to reach 18,000 to cope with demands, says Agsi

Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors believes Garda plan to grow force to 15,000 out of step with modern policing demands

Ronan Clogher of AGSI says traditional model in Irish policing is 'slipping away'. Photograph: Conor McKeown

Conor Lally Security and Crime Editor
Mon Mar 25 2024 - 21:27

Garda sergeants and inspectors have called on the Government to ramp up Garda recruitment as current targets for the size of the force are not being met and are far too low.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said 18,000 gardaí were now needed to police the Republic, rather than the Government’s plan to grow the force from 14,000 at present to 15,000 in coming years.

AGSI deputy general secretary Ronan Clogher said the traditional model in Irish policing, of gardaí being in the community and having relationships with the public, was now “slipping away” towards a much less desirable “reactive” system as in the UK.

Speaking at the opening of AGSI’s annual delegate conference in Westport, Co Mayo, on Monday he said lower-than-required Garda numbers, combined with increased bureaucracy for Garda members and a heightened disciplinary environment, was resulting in many young gardaí deciding to resign and older members retiring as soon as they were eligible.

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“The reality is that we have just 14,000 guards at present,” he said. “The population has increased by 650,000 since 2007, yet we had a similar number of guards in 2007. We have a very diverse population now, there’s huge demand on the guards. Really, to operate properly now the number of guards required is about 18,000... operational gardaí.”

However, while the Government and senior Garda management were trying to grow Garda numbers of 15,000, even those efforts were falling short, because resignations and retirements were increasing at a time policing was “not an attractive career for young people”.

Mr Clogher said the surge in applications to join the Garda, in last year’s recruitment drive, when more than 6,000 applied, was “a once-off” because it was the first round of recruitment after the maximum age for applying was increased from 35 years to 50 years. He believed only about 3,000 people, of all ages, would apply in future recruitment competitions and this would pose major issues for Garda numbers, especially as age-related retirements were now set to trend upwards in coming years.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris were due to address the AGSI conference on Tuesday, when Mr Clogher said his association would ask them to explain why they believed more Garda members than ever were resigning.

He believed a new investigation management system within the Garda had resulted in up to 40 “jobs” – such as collecting evidence and taking statements – for very minor offences, like low-value thefts. This meant gardaí were now “stuck in stations all the time” compiling computer-based records rather than being out on the beat.

There was also a trend towards disciplining gardaí, including for what he said were “minor mistakes”, and this was putting gardaí under increased pressure at a time when lower numbers in the force meant their workload was already heavier.

The Garda needed to move to a “lessons learned” model after minor mistakes were made rather than the current “rush to discipline”. Many young gardaí were deciding “I’ve had enough of this, I’m out of here”.

He also believed Garda management and the Government needed to increase the salaries for Garda members in their early years and reverse measures that reduced the pensions of gardaí who joined the force after 2013. If those steps were taken – and more gardaí recruited and accommodation provided to young gardaí working in Dublin – policing would be more attractive to young people and recruitment efforts would be boosted.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times

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