‘Super’ garda regions and divisions proposed

Most local garda divisions are set to double in size in a massive shakeup of the Garda organisation, under proposals seen by the Irish Examiner.

This would mean that many local garda divisional headquarters will move considerable distances away, into neighbouring divisions.

A draft of the forthcoming Divisional Policing Model envisages cutting the number of garda divisions from 28 to 19, with a similar reduction in the number of chief superintendents.

The proposal will also reduce regions from six to four, with a new northern region stretching from Mayo to Louth and a new eastern region running from Meath down to Waterford.

Some garda sources believe the cut in divisions, in particular, could become a major local political issue.

Maps of the proposals show the new ‘super’ regions and divisions:

• North Western Region: Running from Mayo to Louth and from Donegal to Galway. This would replace both the current Northern Region (Donegal, Sligo/Leitrim, Cavan/Monaghan and Louth) and all but Clare of the current Western Region (Mayo, Galway and Roscommon/Longford);
• Eastern Region: This would incorporate both the current Eastern Region (Meath, Westmeath, Laois/Offaly, Kildare and Wicklow) and all but Tipperary of the current South Eastern Region (Kilkenny/Carlow, Waterford and Wexford);
• Southern Region: This would replace the current Southern Region (Cork West, Cork North, Cork City, Kerry and Limerick) and also subsume Clare and Tipperary;
• The Dublin Metropolitan Region will remain unchanged.

Divisions will reduce more drastically, from 28 to 19. The six Dublin divisions and Cork city division would remain unchanged, as would Kerry, Galway and Limerick. But all other divisions would merge with neighbouring ones.

This includes: Cork North and Cork West; Clare and Tipperary; Mayo and Roscommon/Longford; Donegal and Sligo/Leitrim; Cavan/Monaghan and Louth; Meath and Westmeath; Laois/ Offaly and Kildare; Wicklow and Wexford; Kilkenny/Carlow and Waterford.

The proposal says the four regions and 19 divisions would have a “relatively good spread of staff”. It said 13 divisions would have “600 to 800” staff, three divisions would have more than 800 and three divisions would have less than 600.

The reorganisation is part of Garda commissioner Drew Harris’s new model, set to revamp how policing is delivered and managed at local and regional level.

This plan combines both the recommendations of the Policing Commission report and internal Garda plans developed from Garda Inspectorate recommendations.