5 days ago
Gardai staffing & recruitment crisis latest amid ‘fallen on deaf ears' warning & major wave of retirements next year
The GRA President said the force is 'unlikely' to reach its target of 5,000 extra officers under current policies
GARDA are facing a major recruitment and retention crisis, with hundreds of experienced officers expected to retire next year, the President of the Garda Representatives Association has warned.
Mark O'Meara said the force is bracing for a wave of departures as long-serving members hit the 30-year service mark.
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Mark O'Meara admitted he is considering retiring himself next July when he reaches 30 years of service
Credit: CONOR Ó MEARÁIN
Speaking on Newstalk's Pat Kenny Show, he said the Policing Authority's target of 5,000 extra officers set out in the Programme for Government is 'unlikely to be met' under current policies.
He said: 'We've been beating this drum for some time now and unfortunately it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
'When April next year arrives, we are going to see a significant increase in the number of members retiring.'
The GRA boss said he and colleagues have repeatedly raised the alarm, including in a letter to the Justice Minister last March, which was released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act, but were met with 'silence' and disbelief.
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He said morale and burnout are also fuelling the crisis.
Mr O'Meara admitted he is 'seriously considering' retiring himself next July when he reaches 30 years of service, though for 'a different reason'.
He pointed to 1995, when recruitment campaigns were ramped up and Templemore intakes soared, as an example of what's possible when government acts decisively.
O'Meara also blasted 'statistical-led policing' and an over-reliance on complex computer systems like the IMS database, originally designed to carefully record serious crimes but now used for even minor incidents.
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He said: 'It became very quickly a system for all calls, even those of a very regular or minor nature.
'Officers are spending two or possibly more hours of a twelve-hour shift uploading and downloading information; time they should be on the street.'
O'Meara said attracting and keeping members will require higher starting pay, better pensions, and housing allowances in high-cost urban areas.
He added: 'We are a unique body, An Garda Síochána, and we need to be remunerated for that accordingly."
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