‘Severe lack of sergeants’ to oversee 800 garda recruits per year

Frontline supervisors have said there is a “severe lack of sergeants” to supervise 800 garda trainees due to be recruited next year.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said lack of supervision of new gardaí had been cited as a cause of police failings in the past.

AGSI president Antoinette Cunningham was commenting following the announcement by Tánaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald that 3,200 recruits would be needed over the next four years to satisfy the Government’s commitment to bring numbers to 15,000.