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Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 15 Jun 2011

Vol. 208 No. 8

Garda Recruitment

I thank the Cathaoirleach and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon. I appreciate that Ministers are extremely busy but I made the point in the House that where possible it is more satisfactory if the line Minister could be in attendance but I appreciate Deputy Cannon coming to take this Adjournment on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter.

I wish to bring to the attention of the House the situation regarding the non-recruitment of gardaí for the next three years. The last 120 gardaí from Templemore, Co Tipperary, graduated on Thursday and there will be no recruits for at least two years. No recruitment is planned. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors said the decision is a serious mistake.

I must declare an interest. I was nominated to contest the Seanad election by the AGSI, the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Superintendents. The AGSI said the decision will take youth and vitality from the force which is already losing experienced members through early retirement. John Redmond, the assistant secretary of the AGSI, said:

By the end of 2012 there will be a huge number of people who will have retired from the service. There is only one growth industry in a recession and that is crime.

The GRA said the Government is gambling with the safety of citizens and the security of the state to save money. The policy has been strongly criticised by business people in Templemore who said it would devastate the town which is already suffering in the recession. The Templemore Traders Association said the absence of students and the running down of the college will cost the local economy in County Tipperary millions of euro in trade and job losses.

I appreciate that proposals in regard to recruitment in the next few years were set out in the national recovery plan. It outlined in detail the proposals to be put before the people. It stated that in 2011 the numbers of gardaí would be 13,500; in 2012, 13,350; in 2013, 13,150; and by 2014, 13,000. As far as I know, the proposal was rejected by the electorate who decided to elect a Fine Gael and Labour Party Administration.

Prior to the general election, Fine Gael stated the recommendations on Garda training will form part of the review that will be undertaken by it should be elected to Government. I presume now that it is in government it has an opportunity to reassess the situation. It raised the expectations of many students who were successful in applying for training in An Garda Síochána and they will be extremely disappointed that this Administration has decided to follow the national recovery plan which was rejected by the people. Fine Gael is now in power and we lost out but it seems it is carrying out the policies proposed in the national recovery plan.

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter.

Due to the mismanagement of the economy by the previous Government the current situation in this country is that the resourcing of An Garda Síochána and the public service as a whole has been very seriously eroded. Our overall position is that the State is now dependent on funding from the ECB and the IMF to meet its day-to-day expenditure.

All the Members of this House will be aware of the conditions under which the ECB and IMF funding has been made available and a key element of that programme is that Ireland must eliminate its public expenditure deficit. In that context, it is essential that we restore balance to the public finances as a matter of urgency. If we do not achieve this we will no longer have the capacity to continue funding public services. Accordingly, it is vital that the gap between Government income and expenditure is closed.

When it comes to numbers in An Garda Síochána the Government is severely restricted by the actions of the previous Government. In that context it must be borne in mind that the previous Government decided, for the purposes of the EU and IMF agreement, that the strength of the Garda Síochána would be reduced from 14,500 at the end of 2010 to 13,000 by the end of 2014. This is the stark situation the Minister, Deputy Shatter, inherited.

One of the unfortunate consequences of the policies pursued by the previous Government is that a moratorium on recruitment has had to be applied to An Garda Síochána. This moratorium was in fact initiated by the previous Government in March 2009 and it will have to be continued to achieve the overall reductions in Garda numbers required. It is of course the intention of the Minister, that Garda recruitment should recommence as quickly as possible. However, in that area the hands of the Government have been tied by the decisions taken by the previous Government.

Although it is not of our making, the Government and the general public will inevitably be faced with the fact that the number of serving members of the Garda Síochána will be reduced. In that regard, I stress that the emphasis will be on maintaining front-line services and that where resources are required to deal with serious crime and terrorism they will continue to be made available. At this stage the Government is closely monitoring, and will continue to monitor, the pattern of Garda members leaving the force and recruitment will be restored to make sure that the strength will be maintained as far as possible.

I would also like to refer specifically to the Garda College in Templemore. I can assure the House that it is not closing or being mothballed. The college does not simply train new recruits; it also has the major function of providing continuous professional development training for existing members and civilian support staff. Existing Garda members as well as over 2,000 civilian support staff avail of the training facilities there. There are over 300 training courses in the Garda College and over 20,000 individual days of training were provided in the college in each of the last two years. Additionally, the college plays an important role in the development of a professional policing service in Ireland and it will continue to do so.

I acknowledge the commitment and professionalism of the members of An Garda Síochána. Even though its numbers will be reduced I am confident that it will be possible for it to provide an effective policing service which will meet the needs of the people of this country. It also goes without saying that both the Government and the Minister would be very happy to initiate a new Garda recruitment campaign immediately. Unfortunately, owing to the dreadful economic legacy left to the Government and to the whole country, this is simply not possible.

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