23K starting rates for Garda recruits ‘will impact on morale’

Lower pay rates for new Garda recruits starting at just over €23,000 a year will “seriously impact on morale”, the biggest staff association has said.

The warning from the Garda Representative Association comes as 600 recruits are being taken on this year and follows the training of 550 new gardaí over the previous year.

They are the first batch of new gardaí since recruitment stopped in 2009. They start on a salary of €23,171, compared to almost €32,000 for a trainee PSNI officer.