Garda body says they are not tied up in office roles

GARDAÍ yesterday denied there are hundreds of desk-bound officers who could be used to fight crime.

The Garda Representative Association said there were no opportunities to hire civilian staff to replace office gardaí, despite fears over rising street violence.

“Hundreds of civil servants are working in the gardaí now, and that deal was agreed back in 1999. Any perception that there is an army of gardaí working behind desks is completely wrong,” GRA president John Healy said.

However, Fine Gael Justice spokesperson John Deasy said there was room for more civilian workers.

“Senior gardaí have told me there is plenty of scope for these workers. This is a realistic measure that would put badly needed gardaí back on the beat,” he said.

There are 11,814 garda members, including 9,362 ordinary gardaí and 1,933 sergeants. The civilian staff within the force totals 1,747, but this includes 627 part-time cleaners and 71 traffic wardens.

A 1998 review found that there were 643 posts that could be filled by civilian workers, and last year the Civil and Public Service Union (CPSU), which represents clerical staff in garda stations nationwide, threatened to strike unless 600 extra clerical posts were filled in the force.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) last week called for the establishment of a new Organised Crime Unit to clamp down on serious criminals. But this call was rejected by the Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne.

“If I felt there was a need for such a unit, I would have introduced it myself,” he said.

A spate of gangland activity in Limerick and increased security at Shannon Airport has already hit garda finances this year.

However, Commissioner Byrne still believes the computer system to process penalty points will be operating within a year.