McDowell backing for reserve force of 1,200 to help gardaí

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell said he is favour of introducing a 1,200-strong reserve police force to assist the gardaí.

Mr McDowell said he also wants to raise the garda retirement age from 57 to 60. Reaffirming the Government's commitment to increasing the strength of the garda force to 14,000 by 2007, he said he would bolster numbers by 400 before the end of next year, bringing the total compliment to 12,200.

The minister said he was anxious to get more people into front line policing and out from behind their desks. He said that increasing retirement age and creating a reserve part-time police force would be discussed with various garda representative organisations.

"Ireland is the only common law country in the world without a reserve police force. It's a proposal which has to be teased out but it could be up and running 18 months after a formal decision is made to establish it," he said.

Garda Comm Pat Byrne told the annual conference of the Garda Representative Association he is reviewing opening hours at the country's main garda stations in a bid to free up manpower.

Mr Byrne said the cost of keeping the country's 703 garda stations open was being looked at. He said an assessment of stations open on a 24-hour basis was being made.

At the same time Comm Byrne announced the review, junior justice minister, Brian Lenihan, said three garda stations were being merged and the closure of another three was being considered. Fine Gael justice spokesman John Deasy said isolated communities were being left to fend for themselves.

GRA president, Michael Kirby, was highly critical of curtailment in the force's budget. A number of gardaí said their lives were being put at risk as a result.

Also yesterday, it was revealed no action will be taken against two gardaí who allegedly assaulted two young women in Grafton Street, Dublin five years ago.