Specialist roles for Tipperary gardaí leaving frontline short
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Policing in Tipperary is being hampered by not having enough resources, with fears that frontline policing will not be resourced when members are transferred to some specialist units. That is according to the treasurer of the Garda Representative Association, Garda Tom Finnan, of the Tipperary division.
He said the garda organisation needs to have an optimum numbers survey conducted to highlight where gardaí are required not just in Tipperary but across the country.
And he said: “By doing that, we will know where resources are needed.”
He said the creation of a protective services unit in Tipperary with one inspector, two sergeants and 13 gardaí is a hugely welcome development for the division.
However, he said: “That has had an effect on the frontline when they are not being replaced.”
He said that a lack of garda manpower results in some stations like Roscrea not being able to open on a 24-hour basis.
According to official figures from An Garda Siochana, there were 402 gardaí of all ranks based in the Tipperary division at the end of October – including 332 rank-and-file officers, 53 sergeants, nine inspectors, five superintendents and one chief superintendent.
Garda Finnan estimated that there are 10 members currently out after being injured on duty while a small number of personnel are also on long-term sick leave. He said this is replicated across the force and the organisation cannot hire in agency staff like the health sector.
He also said that there are gardaí currently selected for appointments to specialist roles which could leave vacancies on the frontline.
At the recent GRA annual conference, delegates voiced their concerns about resources, during a motion calling for an independent optimum numbers survey of An Garda Siochana to be conducted.
Garda Damien McCarthy of Pearse Street garda station in Dublin said there have been instances where gardaí had to be brought from Sligo and Leitrim recently to help police Dublin city centre.
Late last month, the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, said in answer to a parliamentary question that Budget 2022 includes funding for the recruitment of 800 new Garda recruits and 400 Garda staff in 2022 - a further additional 1,200 personnel, subject to the public health situation.
She said: “This planned increase in the number of Garda members and staff is designed to deliver significant growth in operational policing hours nationwide and improved public safety and services to the public generally. Deployment of these resources is of course a matter for the Garda Commissioner.”