Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has promised extra gardaí, civilianisation of existing Garda posts and the expansion of the Garda Reserve as part of a package of measures aimed at allaying fears about high crime levels.
The package, announced in the wake of a Cabinet meeting devoted in the main to the recent spate of gun crimes and killings, also includes extra staff for the Forensic Science Laboratory and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The main provisions include 1,000 extra gardaí, to bring the force size to 15,000. Some 300 gardaí in administrative posts would be freed up through a civilianisation programme, while seven senior posts in Garda management, identified for civilianisation in the recent Garda inspectorate report, would be advertised in the near future.
The mandatory Garda retirement age would rise from 57 to 60 and the Garda Reserve would be increased from a proposed strength of 900 to 1,500.
A new digital radio system for the Garda has also been approved for procurement, while the DPP's office will receive in the region of 30 additional staff.
The use of the Special Criminal Court was already allowed for gangland-related trials, Mr McDowell said.
Announcing the measures, he said recent events including the deaths of a number of innocent civilians had made it "tragically clear that what has been achieved already must be built on so that we can protect our society from the dangers in our midst".
He said the Government "can have no greater priority than the safety of its people" and that yesterday's Cabinet decisions amounted to a comprehensive programme of measures that would "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".
Mr McDowell acknowledged yesterday that the additional 1,000 gardaí would not begin to come on to the streets until after early 2008 when the force reaches the current Government target of 14,000.
"What the Government is saying is that's not the end of the process of expansion," he said. "It will be brought to 15,000 because there are people where Patrick [ Pádraig] Nally lives as well as in the heart of Dublin. We need police protection across the country."
He also admitted the expansion of the Reserve would take time to implement but said it would over time "free up members of An Garda Síochána from work which does not require their expertise and training".
He said, however, that the process of civilianising 300 posts within the Garda Síochána would begin "immediately" and that the Garda members in the relevant posts would be freed up for frontline policing activity.
Asked what immediate impact the measures would have, he said they sent a message that the Government was not deterred against action on tackling gun and drug crime. "What I am saying is An Garda Síochána has an emphatic mandate from Government . . . to get on with the job in front of them," he said.
During a press conference to announce the measures, Mr McDowell appeared to back off from recent comments where he criticised judges for releasing large numbers of people on bail who were charged with serious gun and drug offences.
"I don't want to get involved in any altercation," he said. " It's my very, very strong view that the Constitution requires that the legislature, the executive and the judiciary should work together."