People ‘ultimate winners’ of Garda revamp

The head of the Garda Inspectorate said people in communities will be the “ultimate winners” from the new Garda policing revamp with more gardaí in communities, quicker response times, and better investigations of crime.

Chief Inspector Mark Toland said the contention by Garda commissioner Drew Harris that the new plan will free up around 1,000 gardaí from administrative jobs to operational policing is “conservative” and that the inspectorate estimates the figure at around 1,500.