Justice minister pledges no halt to increasing Garda numbers

WHILE Garda recruitment numbers are set to fall from 1,100 to 400 a year due to cutbacks, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern yesterday pledged there would not be a halt to increasing Garda numbers.

He said: “Things have dramatically changed and they have been changing month by month. But if you look at the budget I took out recently there is a 2% reduction. In the management of the difficult circumstances I found myself in the department, I said to my officials that I wanted to concentrate the resources on tackling crime and you will see that in context of where we are I have done that. Despite what I read in the newspapers before the budget that there would be a freeze on Garda recruitment, there will not be a freeze.”

While there will be a reduced intake, numbers would continue to rise.