Justice Minister 'divorced from reality', says GRA chief

The president of the Garda Representative Association has said that the Justice Minister is divorced from the reality of fighting crime.

His comments come following confirmation by Minister Alan Shatter that the resumption of Garda recruitment is indefinitely delayed because of the rejection of Croke Park 2.

Senior gardaí have already warned that the strength of the force is at a critically low level.

GRA president John Parker told Kfm that enough savings have already been made through pay cuts to hire thousands more gardaí.

"The problem there is that the Minister is divorced from the reality as regards fighting crime," he said.

"If you're talking about pounds and pence, then your main priority should be - tackle the crime that's there.

"He's already made enough savings, as I've said, with the 21% reduction in our net take-home wages, [you could] hire 2,300 further gardaí based on those savings alone.

"He shouldn't be tackling crime on the basis of the economies that are there, he should be tackling it on a needs basis."