McDowell massaged garda recruitment figures, says FG

FINE GAEL yesterday accused Justice Minister Michael McDowell of massaging figures by insisting the Government had honoured its commitment on garda recruitment.

Mr McDowell said the total strength of the force — including those in training and qualified gardaí — had reached 14,137, exceeding the 14,000 commitment in the Fianna Fáil-PD Programme for Government.

But Fine Gael said garda recruits should not be included in the figure and that Government figures showed there were currently 12,762 full-time gardaí.