An extra 1,000 gardaí and 300 civilian support staff are to be recruited over the next three years to fight organised crime.
This will result in the Garda force increasing in strength from 14,000 to 15,000 while the 300 support staff will release the same amount of gardaí from administrative to "frontline operational duty". Recruitment for the support staff is to begin immediately.
The announcement was made at a press conference held by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell in Dublin this afternoon. The Minister added that there would be no limit on funds available for the Witness Protection Programme.
"A Government can have no greater priority than the safety of its people and it is against that background that we have taken a series of decisions today which involve a comprehensive programme of measures to ensure that the full resources of the State are brought to bear as never before against the activities of those who have showed a callous disregard for the rule of law," said Mr McDowell.
"I do not guarantee to the Irish people that I will extinguish by turning off a light switch, by one set of proposals, gangland activity in Ireland, nobody in my position can," he told a news conference.
"Drug dealing is dealing in death, firearms possession is dealing in death. And they are to be regarded in my view both by An Garda Síochána, by the legislature, by Government and by the judiciary as people who are potential or actual murderers.
"They are in the business of homicide, be it delayed or threatened or actual. They must be dealt with as that, they must be dealt with by the same severity and the same degree of energy as the paramilitaries were in the past."
The newly formed Garda Reserve force is to increase in size from 900 to 1500, eventually forming ten per cent of the increased full time professional force.
The Minister also announced that the retirement age for Garda , Sergeant and Inspector ranks would be increased from 57 to 60.
Regarding the use of the Special Criminal Court to tackle gangland crime, Mr McDowell said the court had been used in the past for such purposes. However, it was a matter for the DPP to decide if it should be used in the future.
"The Government noted that the Special Criminal Court can be - and, indeed, has been - used in relation to gangland criminals where the Director of Public Prosecutions is satisfied that the ordinary courts could not secure the effective administration of justice," he said.
However, the Tánaiste ruled out making any amendments to the Special Criminal Court legislation and said he could not "be of the opinion that a person can be interned on the word of a senior garda".
He added that the Government were satisfied that the bail laws were "basically robust".
The package of measures sanctioned today includes:
- A further increase of 1,000 in the strength of An Garda Síochána to bring the total to 15,000 over the next three years;
- Sanction for 300 additional civilian administrative support posts for An Garda Síochána;
- The recruitment of the 7 senior civilian posts recommended in the recent reports from Kathleen O'Toole and Maurice Hayes;
- An increase in the retirement age for Gardaí, Sergeants and Inspectors from 57 to 60;
- A proportionate increase in the targeted strength of the Garda Reserve from 900 to 1500;
- Increased staffing for the Forensic Science Laboratory, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Courts Service;
- No limit on funds available for the Witness Protection Programme.