Garda graduates sent to Dublin 'at expense of the regions'

Multiple TDs have expressed concern about the number of Garda graduates being sent to regions outside Dublin.

The Government has been accused of prioritising the deployment of new garda recruits to Dublin “at the expense” of more regional towns.

On Friday, 167 new gardaí graduated from Templemore and are set to enter into service across the country.

In total, 104 are to be sent to the Dublin Metropolitan Region, while 21 will be assigned to the Southern Region. A further 31 will go to the Eastern Region, while the remaining 11 will be assigned to the North-Western Region.

Multiple TDs have expressed concern about the number of gardaí being sent to regions outside Dublin.

Matt Carthy, Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson, said the figures showed the Government was failing to get to grips with Garda recruitment.

“Of course, there are parts of Dublin that need additional gardaí, but that’s the same across every region. There are towns, villages, and entire regions that do not have the number of gardaí required to carry out basic roles,” Mr Carthy said.

“We cannot tolerate a situation where consistently, the vast bulk of new gardaí that are coming out of Templemore are being deployed to Dublin at the expense of the regions.”

Mr Carthy said while there were not enough gardaí in Dublin, there was “not a single part of the country” where there were sufficient gardaí to carry out their required duties.

The chair of the Oireachtas Justice Committee added there was a significant interest from the public to join An Garda Síochána, but the process to enter the force was “far too slow and cumbersome”.

Fine Gael TD for Louth and deputy chair of the justice committee Paula Butterly also raised concerns about the number of gardaí being deployed, particularly questioning the low number being sent to the North-Western region.

“I’ll always welcome new guards being assigned to North-Western, but I find the figure incredibly low considering the growing population,” Ms Butterly said.

She cited the fact just two gardaí were assigned between Dundalk and Drogheda, saying there was a need for more to deal with drug crime.