Croke Park rejection scuppers hiring of gardaí

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has put on hold plans to restart Garda recruitment following the rejection of Croke Park II by unions.

Mr Shatter said that while he did not want Garda numbers to fall below 13,000 — the minimum set by Commissioner Martin Callinan — he could not recruit people without money to pay them.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Superintendents, the minister said: “On the question of Garda strength, my objective is to ensure that numbers will not fall below 13,000. I have said elsewhere that I intended to shortly bring proposals on this to Cabinet. Of course, if new members of the force are to be recruited I have to ensure the funds exist to pay them.”