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New Garda commissioner faces challenge of expanding force as retirements set to rise
Hopes that a surge in departures from
An Garda Síochána
during the Covid-19 pandemic was part of the 'great resignation' from the workforce appear to have been optimistic.
Resignations surged by almost 250 per cent in the four years to 2023 – to 171 – before declining by 20 per cent last year, raising hopes the worrying trend was dissipating.
But the latest figures show there were 68 resignations in the first half of this year. That means the pace this year is keeping up with that of last year, when 138 Garda members resigned – opting out before being eligible to retire on a full pension.
When the new Garda commissioner is appointed on Tuesday, to succeed Garda Commissioner
Drew Harris
after seven years in the job, he or she will have another major headache.
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Between 30 and 40 years ago, a recruitment drive was undertaken by the Garda because of the security challenges posed by the Troubles. This generation is now coming to retirement age.
It means we are set for a decade-long increase in Garda retirements at the precise time recruitment is sluggish and resignations appear stuck at about 140 per year.
It will all impact on Garda numbers and make it harder to provide a quality policing service, from responding to 999 calls to investigating crimes and catching the perpetrators.
And yet the Government is continuing to make promises of hiring 1,000 new gardaí per year, increasing the force's strength to 15,000 members and then continuing to expand until it reaches 18,000.
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Garda numbers begin to grow, though 15,000-strong target will take four more years
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The requirement for a 15,000-strong Garda force was first mooted in a submission to Government by then Garda commissioner Noel Conroy 20 years ago, citing population growth and other factors.
When Conroy called for 15,000 gardaí, the Republic's population was 4.13 million. It had increased to 5.5 million by April 2023, according to the most recent estimate available from the Central Statistics Office.
The force was growing in early 2020, and would likely be at 15,000 by now, or close to it, before the pandemic struck and the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, was forced to close. But since it reopened, with the economy booming, hiring gardaí has proven more difficult.
However, Garda Headquarters said numbers in the force have been rising for some time and had reached 14,318. The resignation rate was 'approximately 1 per cent' per year. This compared with up to 10 per cent in some British police forces and 10 to 20 per cent in the private sector.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents more than 11,000 rank-and-file gardaí, said the drop in resignations last year appears to have been a 'false dawn'.
'Coupled with the fact that almost 1,900 gardaí are eligible to take up retirement over the next three years, it appears that the target of a Garda strength of 15,000-plus is now just a pipe dream,' said GRA general secretary Ronan Slevin.
He believed incentives were needed to retain more gardaí, which would also make the force more attractive to potential recruits. It was 'imperative' the new commissioner addressed the issue.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), said in light of population growth, it was clear an 18,000-strong force was needed; a target Harris suggested in the early years of his commissionership.
AGSI general secretary Ronan Clogher said gardaí were required to take on a higher workload, which had become acute and was having a 'corrosive' impact.
He was 'worried' as resignations were no longer largely confined to young rank-and-file members of the force, with sergeants and inspectors now also leaving to take up other jobs.
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Garda numbers crisis: 'We could lose 30% to 50% of our organisation in five years'
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