Sinn Féin spokesperson for Justice, Pa Daly TD, has today responded to the latest Policing Authority reports on Garda numbers.  The reports by Commissioner Harris to the Authority put the number of sworn Garda at 14,064 members at the end of July.
 
Teachta Daly said:
 
“The number of sworn members now stands a shade over 14,000, and once leave, injuries and other absences are taken into account, the available numbers are even lower. That number is essentially the same as when Fine Gael took over the Justice ministry 13 years ago, despite an increase in population since. Fine Gael’s record in the Department is nothing short of disastrous.
 
“The reasons for this decline in Garda numbers are multi-faceted, but there is little doubt they result in large part of a government failure to improve conditions within the role, as well as a lack of imagination and action for a number of years despite the dire situation being clear for all to see.
 
“Communities feel badly let down by a lack of visible policing in both urban and rural areas. Too many areas don’t have a Garda station or where they do, residents find they are only open for a few short hours a week.
 
“Garda often feel unsupported and overstretched in their work. Decent and affordable accommodation, close to where Gardaí work, is near impossible to find. Whilst the housing crisis affects everyone, there is little doubt it plays a major part in the number of Gardaí emigrating to join other police services.
 
“There is an increasing spiral of ever higher demands on Gardaí also, meaning a negative cycle of burnout, resignations and increased workloads has developed.
 
“The government is only taking action now in many respects, including raising the retirement age. With recruitment now reopened to the Garda Reserve, after months of Sinn Féin calls, the retirement age for reservists should be examined too. We need to see an engaged, proactive and determined government that is actively working to solve the challenges faced by Gardaí, instead of being purely reactive.
 
“The solutions a Sinn Féin led government would bring would address these issues including removing non-core duties from Gardai, implementing our housing plan and creating a retention and recruitment taskforce to report back urgently. We would stand up for rural and urban communities, to ensure that they can feel safe and protected.
 
“Fine Gael are out of ideas, and out of time. They have no credibility on law and order, and have not done so for a long time. A Sinn Féin government would stand up for communities and ensure that they can feel safe and protected, with adequate Garda numbers and resources.”