EXTRA SERGEANTS NEEDED ACROSS KERRY CLAIMS AGSI

TEN “essential” sergeant positions need to be filled in Kerry immediately to allow gardaí to operate efficiently and effectively countywide.

The shortage of sergeants and other garda positions nationwide is being discussed this week at the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) conference in Carlow.

Kerry AGSI Branch Secretary, Sgt Adrian Brennan, said that this shortage is as much a crisis in Kerry as it is across the country.

“There are 10 essential garda positions that we want to fill – these are just sergeant roles. There are also inspector positions as well and more gardaí needed,” he said.

Extra sergeants are required across Kerry including in Tralee, Killarney, Killorglin, Cahersiveen, Kenmare, Castleisland, Listowel and Sneem.

This lack of senior garda figures is also set to get worse across the county as there is a high age profile of senior gardaí in Kerry which means there will be even more retirements from such positions.

The lack of sergeants is particularly a problem for training probationer gardaí appointed to Kerry, as senior personnel are not available to guide them.

“We are getting probationers to Tralee and Killarney, the two training stations, but they need more experienced members to guide them. We have to learn from the lessons of the past. We failed probationers in the past.”

Promotions for sergeants nationally have been postponed indefinitely over a row in filling the interview panel for those positions.

In 2010 there was 350 Gardaí in Kerry across all ranks. This fell to a low of 290 but there is now around 310, accoring to Sgt Brennan. This means that 40 more Gardaí are needed across the county.

Gardaí have been appointed to the Traffic Corp and to the Detective Branch but positions remain to be filled. Plans are also underway for a dedicated protective service unit – focusing on sexual crimes and child abuse – in Kerry by the end of the year.

Sgt Brennan says that dedicated staff will also be needed to fill this unit, so it is vital for Kerry that more gardaí and sergeants are appointed.

Meanwhile, a motion by Kerry’s ASGI branch tabled at the AGSI conference – to be discussed on Tuesday evening – called for a policy document to be drawn up for the force for extreme weather events.

The recent Storm Ophelia and Storm Emma were major weather events and a proper risk assessment is needed to allow the gardaí to be prepared for such extreme conditions.