Plans to increase new garda recruits to 1,000 per year
Drew Harris will tell the Oireachtas Justice Committee this afternoon they are working with the Office of Public Works to to increase the capacity of the Garda College to accommodate 250 new recruits.
He says they want to run two recruitment competitions, with four intakes of two hundred and fifty each, to the Garda College in Templemore every year.
He also says the gardaí are currently in discussions with other third level institutions regarding recruit garda training and is committed to meeting the Government's target of 5,000 new gardaí over the next five years.
The figure of 1,000 new gardaí is unlikely to be met this year at current recruitment rates.
The Commissioner has also rejected claims that the level of resignations from An Garda Síochána is high, pointing to the fact that 140 of 14,000 resigned, a ratio of 1% and 29 fewer than the year before.
The figure is lower than the UK and some police forces, he says, have a resignation rate of 10%
He also said the recent loss of the roads policing Garda Kevin Flatley who died in the line of duty serves "as a stark reminder of the risks gardaí face" and puts "into sharp focus the dangers that exist on our roads today."
Last year, one driver was arrested every hour of every day for driving under the influence of drink or drugs and there was a 14% increase in the number of Fixed Charge Notices and penalty points for mobile phones.
Seventy people have died on the roads so far this year, five less than last year, a reduction which the Commissioner points out "is no consolation for the bereaved families."
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