Garda force could fall below 12,000

The strength of the Garda force could drop below 12,000 before any new recruits are trained up, putting the force well below the minimum threshold former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said was vital to maintain existing policing services.

Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show the force is likely to drop as low as 12,273 before any of the 100 recruits currently undergoing training become fully-fledged officers in 2016.

And this doesn’t take account of gardaí who are on sickness or maternity leave, which could see the ‘thin blue line’ dip below 12,000.

New figures from the Garda Press Office reveal that the current number of gardaí stands at 12,835 and 212 of them have been given approval to take a three-year career break.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) estimates that 1,200 gardaí are approaching eligibility to retire and expects approximately 350 of them do so before current recruits become fully operational.

GRA president Dermot O’Brien said his organisation has repeatedly warned the situation has become so bad that “it’s impossible to cover all policing needs”.

He claimed his association’s warnings were being met with the stock answer from management: ‘We are to do the best we can with the resources available.’

Mr O’Brien said recruitment is not keeping pace with the numbers leaving the force, even though the independent Keating Report of 1996 recommended that between 400 and 600 gardaí be recruited every year to maintain proper manpower levels.

“At the 2007 general election there was all­party support for 16,000 gardaí needed to police Ireland. But no independent study was carried out to establish the exact number required,” he said.

“Our own estimates to police everything from border control to counter espionage and other policing needs was closer to 18,000. Why has no one brought in expertise to answer a simple enough question; how many gardaí are needed to police Ireland?”

No recruits were trained to replace retirees from frontline units during the past five years.

“Every garda has been working beyond optimum capacity and despite their best efforts have not been able to replace retired colleagues. The numbers of gardaí are insufficient to provide the first-class service the public deserves,” Mr O’Brien said. He said the failure to recruit consistently “will have long­term consequences for Ireland”.

The Garda Press Office also said the force is backed by 2,052 whole-time equivalent civilian staff. There are also 1,103 Garda Reserves and another 105 Reserves have just graduated.