Concern over Tipp garda numbers
For the second time in a row North Tipperary is receiving no new gardaí after the latest graduation ceremony in Templemore with Tipperary as a whole only receiving one garda, said Tipp TD, Alan Kelly.
Deputy Kelly added: “The same was the case in November when we had another attestation ceremony. In November of the 194 graduates, 87 were allocated to Dublin while this time of the 167, 104 are gone to Dublin. North Tipperary got none.
“It is incredible that this is allowed to happen when we have had many retirements and it is glaringly obvious that there is a lack of gardaí in North Tipperary.
“Gardaí are telling us of lack of capacity to police their areas. They are having to cover areas a long distance from them and specialist positions are left vacant. At times towns are left with a patrol car and I’m being told most policing now is reactive rather than proactive because of manpower and resource issues. We have known for a long time that the current policing model needs to be changed as it doesn’t make sense.
“It seems quite obvious to me that there is a policy now being adopted of discriminating against rural areas when in the last two graduations 191 of 361 or 53% graduates have been allocated to Dublin alone.
“The bottom line now is it is very easy to find a garda if you are walking the streets of Dublin. I see it myself every week.
“However, it is very difficult to find one if you are walking the streets of any town in North Tipperary and that is a deliberate policy that is being implemented by this Government and it’s discriminatory to North Tipperary.”
Last Friday, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan welcomed the attestation of 167 new gardaí at a ceremony in the Garda College in Templemore.
One hundred men and 67 women have been attested and will now be assigned to garda divisions across the country by the Garda Commissioner.
Over 100 probationer gardaí will be deployed across the Dublin Metropolitan Region, with 21 assigned to the Southern Region, 31 to the Eastern Region and 11 to the North-Western Region.