Garda clerical plan ‘has become a shambles’

ONLY one-in-five of 500 gardaí doing clerical duties have been replaced by civilians since 2001, the Labour Party claimed yesterday.

The party’s leader Pat Rabbitte said the Garda Civilianisation Scheme was in disarray, and the transfer of gardaí from desk jobs to operational duties had not happened almost five years after it was announced.

According to Mr Rabbitte, almost 500 gardaí were to be freed for frontline duties and replaced by civilian clerical employees.