Gardaí wary of ‘1,000 officers’ vow
THE Garda Representative Association (GRA) has expressed serious doubts that the 1,000 new positions in the force will be filled – as the job just ‘isn’t attractive enough’ for young people.
The Government announced yesterday that it will escalate its Garda recruitment campaign to compensate for Covid restrictions, which it says prevented it from reaching its recruitment target this year.
One-thousand new recruits will be trained up within five phases next year, along with an additional 430 Garda civilian staff.
However, according to the GRA, the force has suffered from hundreds of gardaí leaving their roles due to unfavourable working conditions.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, GRA president Brendan O’Connor said that while any new positions are greatly needed, there are many issues that discourage people from joining the ranks.
‘People who join genuinely want to make a difference, but they’re facing an unfair workload for very little pay,’ he said. ‘New recruits are generally sent to very busy areas with understaffed units so they’re often forced to fill out paperwork on days off.’
Mr O’Connor added: ‘Some are deciding that the pay and conditions and the all-consuming work life are just not worth it, which is why we’re seeing so many gardaí leaving their roles every year.’
Philip McAnenly, interim general secretary of the GRA, said there is ‘clearly an urgent need’ for more members on the frontline.
‘In 2021 we were promised 800 new recruits this year and we have yet to see a large proportion of that number coming through training – and that target will simply not be achieved this year,’ he said.
‘We expect that Garda management will make these new 1,000 positions a priority for the safety and wellbeing of our members.’
Following the Budget announcement, Justice Minister Helen McEntee highlighted the pressing need for high-visibility policing and more gardaí on the beat.
She said: ‘There will be additional funding for gardaí in the likes of IT and technology, along with bodyworn cameras and much more to support them in the work that they’re doing.
The minister added: ‘There’ll also be an increase in funding for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services.’