GRA attacks McDowell for delays

MINISTER for Justice Michael McDowell has been criticised for putting his promise to provide an extra 2,000 gardaí on the long finger again.

Garda Representative Association (GRA) President, Michael Kirby, said yesterday the number of frontline gardaí was being depleted instead of increased.

He made his comments at the annual GRA Conference in Bundoran, Co Donegal, after Mr McDowell admitted budgetary constraints were preventing additional recruitments.

Mr McDowell told the conference that the Garda budget was up 9.5% on last year, which would result in 200 extra recruits coming out of Templemore.

"It will permit an increase in the size of the force this year to 12,200, an historic high," Mr McDowell said.

"I also want to emphasise that the Government is still committed to an overall increase in the strength of the Garda Siochána of 2,000 members as soon as budgetary circumstances permit."

Mr McDowell added that the addition of volunteer members to the Force was not intended as a substitution for that commitment.

However, the fact that the promise has been shunted into the sidings again has annoyed rank and file members of the force.

The GRA president said additional recruitment was needed as never before in the fight against crime.

"The haemorrhage of members into specific specialist units and the proposed creation of extra traffic units means that people will have to be replaced, otherwise there will be a severe reduction in frontline services," Mr Kirby said.

GRA members said it was all very well to promise extra resources, but they stressed the Garda training college at Templemore might not have the capacity to train the additional numbers promised in such a short space of time - before the next General Election.

"Templemore would be over-stretched if the Minister's plans for extra recruitment were implemented in the time scale described," a GRA member said.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy said that in delivering public services, effectiveness, efficiency and economies of scale were demanded, and policing was no exception.

"More resources, and I have said this before, would be of benefit and facilitate the provision of a more comprehensive service but, the inescapable fact of modern life is that we, all of us, must work within the constrained environment of a finite budget," Mr Conroy told delegates.