There are not enough gardaí left, says union
That is the hard-hitting message which will be delivered to the justice minister and the Garda Commissioner today by Garda Representative Association (GRA) president Damien McCarthy when his organisation’s 34th annual conference gets under way in Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Garda McCarthy, who represents 11,300 rank-and-file members of the force, last night outlined a number of problems facing what remained of the ever-thinning blue line.
He described morale within what remained of the frontline force as extremely low due to a combination of budget cuts, slashed pay, ever burgeoning workloads, and the Government’s determination to close even more stations.
“We don’t have enough people to police effectively and efficiently,” said Garda McCarthy.
He added that more than 2,000 gardaí had retired in recent years and they were not being replaced due to the closure of the Garda training college in Templemore.
“We’re struggling to cope... We’ve lost [their] experience and enthusiasm. We need [new] members. now more than ever,” he said.
“I don’t believe any garda division in the country now has sufficient numbers... Every single Garda district is on the brink.”
He is expected to deliver what he described as a “no ambiguity” speech to Justice Minister Alan Shatter concerning fears that the Government was planning to close a raft of stations in the coming years, and is expected to point out that such a move would not be tolerated by the public, especially in rural areas.
However, Garda McCarthy also questioned the proposed closure of urban stations, especially Harcourt Terrace, Dublin.
He said the 74 gardaí based there still had not been told where they would be transferred to and closing the station — which has cells handling 3,000 prisoners per year — could have serious repercussions for the entire criminal justice system.
“The minister should listen to our concerns and stop any further station closures,” he said.
Garda McCarthy will also ask Mr Shatter to look again at imposing jail sentences of up to five years for anybody convicted of serious assaults on on-duty gardaí, nurses, ambulance, and fire brigade crews. He said on average, two gardaí were the victims of serious assaults each day.
The most recent high- profile attack happened where a member of the Garda National Bureau of Immigration required 30 stitches to a wound.
