Halt in decline of Garda resignations sparks concern
For decades, the number of gardaí leaving the force before being eligible to retire on full pensions was low. However, it jumped from 69 in 2020 to 171 in 2023, a near-250 per cent increase.
Last year, resignations declined by about 20 per cent, to 138, though that decline has not continued in the first six months of this year, when there were 68 resignations. If that pace continued for the remainder of the year, the total would be the same as last year's.
Shortages of personnel continue to hamper police work across the State, from responding to emergencies to investigating crimes.
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However, the Garda has insisted the level of resignations is much lower than in other sectors and far below that in other police forces.
'Despite the extensive commentary and public narrative on a crisis on resignations in An Garda Síochána, the resignation rate remains at approximately 1 per cent,' Garda Headquarters said in reply to queries.
It said this is far below the rate in other police services, citing a figure of up to 10 per cent in the UK, and the private sector, where it said the rate was 10 to 20 per cent.
The force said some of those who had left were subject to internal discipline and opted to resign from the organisation rather than be dismissed.
Twelve gardaí who had previously resigned were reattested in recent months and applications from others seeking to rejoin are under consideration.
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Garda resignations surge to record high in 2023
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The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said the Government is already set to miss its recruitment targets less than a year into office.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said the next Garda commissioner, due to be appointed on Tuesday, must address 'high levels' of resignations.
Recruitment has begun to increase the strength of the Garda over the past 12 months, to 14,300 at present. However, that remains below the target of 15,000 minimum, with the long-term aim of growing to 18,000.
The number of resignations is a concern because recruitment to the force has been sluggish since the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, reopened after being forced to close during the pandemic.
Though there is capacity at the college to take in four 200-strong classes of recruits per year, classes have been smaller, with 630 recruits starting training last year.
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Some of those offered places have moved on to take other jobs, or have emigrated, by the time their applications to join the Garda have been approved and their start date for Templemore is set.
Garda Headquarters has vowed to streamline that process; other ideas to bolster recruitment include satellite garda training centres, home study, and directly hiring specialists with the required skills.
The trainee allowance is now €354 per week, almost double the rate in 2023. The maximum age for new recruits has increased from 35 to 50.
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Irish Times
7 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Ireland will be rememberd as a beacon in dark times if we pass the Occupied Territories Bill
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Irish Times
37 minutes ago
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‘I was delighted with the big, happy head on him': Stories of soundness restoring readers' faith in humanity
It's the summer time and it is a bank holiday so – for one day only – we are going to dispense with giving out and highlight some of the good and great customer-service stories we have heard of late. We are going to start with our friends in Ryanair as we know they think we are biased against them, something that could not be further from the truth. A reader called Emer mailed us at the start of July with a story she said was 'different to the norm as it is about two good news stories' rolled into one. Her good news begins in Bologna on July 4th with some very bad news indeed. READ MORE Emer admits that she is 'old school' and prints her boarding passes before travelling. This was something she, perhaps, had cause to regret on that particular Friday as both her and husband's passports and boarding passes were stolen. The theft happened at around midday on the day they were due to travel home and they had less than four hours to try to resolve the situation. 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'We told our story to the girl on the luggage check-in desk and she talked to her supervisor, and then to Dublin, to see if they would let us through passport control and if we would be allowed on the flight.' Pricewatch would not have been holding out much hope at this stage, we have to say. 'Word eventually came from Dublin and we were on our way home. So a huge thank you to Ryanair and their check-in staff,' Emer writes. We can only assume the couple were able to make it through passport control without their passports – and Emer adds a second piece of good news which was that she and her husband applied for new passports on the Sunday after they arrived home and three days later their new passports came through the door. 'So thank you to the staff at Ryanair for your caring and compassionate response to our plight and thank you to the staff for your efficiency and speed in the passport office.' 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[ Ireland's best and worst customer service: Guess which list Aer Lingus and Facebook are in Opens in new window ] We also heard from Donal from Sligo who noted that Pricewatch occasionally 'offer bouquets instead of brickbats and today I would like to nominate a company for a bouquet. For the past number of years my wife and I have travelled frequently by ferry between Ireland and France and Ireland and the UK. We travel exclusively with Stena ferries because their booking system is easy to navigate and if there are particular needs to be addressed there is a phone number.' He also says the 'telephone is always answered promptly by a person' and he adds that the 'personnel on the end of the phone have always been friendly, helpful and efficient.' He suggests that the 'same staff culture is also evident on board their ferries and at the ports. It is so refreshing to receive such welcome customer service with no sign of a bot. I would emphasise that the only connection we have with Stena is as satisfied customers.' Declan's tank took a little less than the 1,000 litres of home heating oil he'd ordered. Photograph: iStock Declan from Dublin mailed about a brief encounter with good customer service 'by way on contrast with so many of the other kind which we hear about'. He says he recently ordered 1,000 litres of home heating oil from Capital Oil/Local Fuels and paid €838 by credit card. 'However, the tank took a little less than that, costing about €18 less. This was shown on the docket left on delivery. I meant to send an email but did not get around to it for about a week. 'Doing a routine check on my account, I found that the difference had been credited back to it by Capitol Oil without any intervention from me, in contrast with the dozens of complaints you get about how difficult it is to get valid refunds from so many companies. Good customer relations or what?' 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'Fair dues to Eir and their contractors for fast and efficient service.' And finally there is Diarmuid, who bought a hand-held vacuum cleaner last November from Lidl at a cost of €25. 'I only got round to using it three weeks ago and found that it would not charge so I contacted Lidl . I also had lost the receipt. Today I received a new replacement model from the manufacturer in Germany.' As we were reading through all of these stories something struck us. They are all linked by a single thread. Soundness. Sometimes customer service is not that complicated and if businesses just made the decision to be sound or to empower their staff to be sound, then we would have a lot less to be giving out about on this page and our world would be a much better place.
Irish Times
37 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Half of post-primary schools apply for phone pouch funding
Just over half of post-primary schools have applied for funding under the Government's phone pouches scheme. A total of 380 out of the country's 722 second-level schools have made applications under the €9 million plan, announced in the budget last year, to provide smartphone pouches or storage boxes to restrict the use of mobile phones by pupils during the school day. The initiative sparked criticism at the time and Opposition parties labelled it 'wasteful' and 'unnecessary' . But in reply to a parliamentary question from Labour education spokesman Eoghan Kenny, Minster for Education Helen McEntee confirmed that 380 schools had applied for funding of €25 per pupil by the June 24th deadline. READ MORE Payment has already been made to 304 schools and 'processing of the balance of those schools is under way, with funding to issue to eligible schools shortly'. The funding can only be used for pouches and phone lock boxes. Ms McEntee said the phone restriction policy 'will build on the existing school policies in this area and will enable children to disconnect from their online world and connect more with their peers for the duration of the school day. Consultation with the school community is a key feature of this measure'. However, Mr Kenny said phone pouches were far down the list of priorities for schools that had contacted him. 'The biggest issue for schools is the lack of funding for very basic things like electricity, heating, IT equipment, funding for caretakers, for example,' he said. He said they need funding to paint doors, walls and windows at the end of the year and 'there are so many additional costs that you need, to keep the school running as opposed to storing phones'. Mr Kenny, a former secondary school business studies and religion teacher said 'this amount of money could be used in a far better way than storing phones'. [ Schools told they cannot spend €9m phone pouch budget on other education needs Opens in new window ] He pointed to difficulties with the phone pouch policy. 'I'm not saying every child is going to do this but if you've a child of 15 or 16, they are going to bring in an old phone, put it into the phone pouch and then go off with their original phone. 'So it's not an effective way of actually stopping them from using their phones.' He acknowledged the Government's concerns about children's use of social media but said while there are issues in trying to keep students off phones, 'the majority of the time mobile phone policy in schools works'.
