Too posh to police? Why garda numbers are falling
An Garda Siochana has a serious retention and recruitment problem.
The Commissioner knows it, so does the Minister for Justice but despite public commitments to reach enrolment targets, ongoing recruitment campaigns and changes to admission criteria, efforts to increase the size of the force to the Government benchmark of 15,000 continue to falter.
There are now fewer sworn Garda members than at the start of last year.
Why? It’s a well-paying public service job, it offers career variety and progression and it offers the possibility of retiring with a full pension at 60 or even earlier.
Crime…
The skinny
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