Reports of 1,000 garda job losses dismissed

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said there was “no possib-ility” of the gardaí losing 1,000 officers this year or that there was not enough money to pay all members.

Mr Shatter poured cold water on media reports that up to 1,400 gardaí were to go this year after the Department of Justice told shocked Garda bosses that there was a €35m cut to the payroll budget.

Senior gardaí have claimed they can no longer pay all 13,400 serving gardaí, with reports claiming that Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan was considering offering career breaks and officers on secondment to other investigative departments in an effort to reduce garda numbers.