Garda recruitment in towns
Mattie McGrath raised severe Garda shortages in several towns and across the country. The Taoiseach said recruitment funding was in place, that new recruits should exceed departures, and that staffing and the new station in Clonmel were progressing.
The situation regarding recruitment and retention in An Garda Síochána is very acute. There are four gardaí and two sergeants in the town of Carrick-on-Suir in the Clonmel Garda district. They would want four times that number to fill the rosters. They can only fill one roster. We see the slow rate of input into Templemore but we also see the resignations, retirements and people being out sick. The situation is alarming. The situation is the same in Clonmel, in Cashel in the Cahir Garda district, and throughout the country. We know that the limited number of recruits in Templemore go to Dublin and the major cities, so we are in a hopeless situation. It is unfair that people in towns like Carrick-on-Suir and the surrounding areas are left like this with barely any service. I salute the gardaí who are there and Garda Pat Kelly, who retired recently. They are great people but they cannot do the work on their own. They need supports and numbers. What is the Government going to do about it?
Comment on this
The Garda Commissioner is responsible for recruitment but the Minister for Justice keeps in regular contact with him about this important matter. Funding has been provided for 1,000 new Garda recruits this year. That remains our target for the year.
We are confident that the number of new recruits this year will exceed the number of retirements and resignations. In addition, we are hiring Garda staff to free up gardaí to do Garda work. I saw that in operation in Clonmel only a few weeks ago. I am very pleased that we now have the go-ahead for the new station there too.