Garda Representative Association voices fears over ‘recent trend of resignations’ which constitute a ‘real issue’
Some Garda sources were concerned numbers retiring could spike later this year and exceed 360, especially if new rosters — to which most members are opposed — are introduced later in the year by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. However, other sources believed a compromise would be reached in the ongoing rosters dispute.
Mr Harris has said while resignations were increasing, the rate of attrition in the Garda was much lower than other police forces in the US and UK and in many parts of the private sector. He added that some of the Garda members who resigned in recent years were those placed under investigation, and some convicted of crimes, but insisted there was not an atmosphere of “doom and gloom” around the work of the force.
“Among those who resigned were people who believed they were cut out to be a guard, but who realised after a couple of years they weren’t,” he told delegates at the GRA annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo, last week. “Not everyone is cut out for this work.” He added that exit interviews would commence shortly, meaning the force would have access to live and ongoing research around the reasons gardaí were resigning. Data from those interviews would be “collated ... to identify issues we can address”.
During the pandemic, recruitment ceased as the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary, was forced to close. However, resignations and age-related retirements continued, resulting in a fall in Garda numbers by almost 750 in the last three years; 14,036 at the end of March compared with 14,750 at the end of March, 2020.
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