Gardaí want Government to keep recruitment promise

The Government must live up to its promise of getting 2,000 extra police officers on the streets, members of the force were demanding today.

Gardaí made the call at the annual meeting of the Garda Representative Association in Galway today.

Micheal Kirby, president of the GRA, said officers would be asking for a properly-funded service to address public order on the streets.

He said that the top capacity of Templemore training college was 650, while some 550 gardaí are due to retire this year.

Mr Kirby said it was likely there would be an increase of just 50 officers this year.

He said: “If we increase the force by 50, what we are talking about in reality is putting 10 extra gardaí on the streets over a 24-hour period.”

He said that if cutbacks were made in the force, the obvious consequence would be a reduction in the quality of service.

“That’s not rocket science, that’s the facts of it,” he said.

“It is up to society to decide what type of a police force they want.

“Do they want them adequately resourced? Do they want them properly funded? The Government must decide on its priorities.”

He criticised suggestions that a reserve force could be employed to fill gaps, saying this would just mean an extra layer of bureaucracy.

“What we want is to get the Garda Siochana adequately funded to do the job,” he added.

“I think the public wants them to do that and address public order on our streets.”

Justice Minister Micheal McDowell was due to address the conference later today.