Gardaí call for abolition of reserve

Rank-and-file gardaí say they are fed up "mollycoddling" Garda reserve members and are calling for the reserve, which was introduced in 2005, to be abolished.

Between €3m and €4m is spent on the Garda reserve every year.

Kells-based garda Peter Devine said the money should be invested in full-time policing, and asked: "What would the public (if they were given the choice) prefer - 192,000 man hours of full-time, properly trained, committed members of An Garda Siochána, or 156,000 part-timers in doing a few hours…being mollycoddled by the real guards?"

The issue is being highlighted at the annual conference of the Garda Representative Association in Co Mayo.