Latest news with #GardaOperatingModel
Irish Examiner
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Policing Authority recommends 'radical change' in garda recruitment
'Radical change' is needed to Garda retention and recruitment to enable the organisation meet its existing functions, the policing oversight body has said. Policing Authority chair Elaine Byrne also said the ongoing delay in the enactment of policing legislation has meant it has been unable to conduct competitions for senior Garda positions, with potentially 'serious consequences' for the Garda senior leadership team. Writing in the 2024 annual report of the Policing Authority, Ms Byrne said the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act was only commenced last April. Under this, the authority has been renamed the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA). In a separate report to the annual report, the PCSA noted recent changes to the Garda recruitment process, including the fitness procedure, and a reduced timeframe for vetting. The Assessment of Policing Performance during 2024 report said the 'impact of the strain on resources' has affected the organisation's abilities to meet many policing targets for 2024. Policing Authority chair Elaine Byrne (left) with the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris in Dublin last year. Drew Harris recently told an Oireachtas committee he expected he would have 15,200 gardaí, rather than 14,200, by now, but that covid and long recruitment processes had affected this. File photo: Leah Farrell/© The report also highlights: Lack of resources is seen as 'detrimental' to the success of the new Garda Operating Model and that 'in the main' gardaí highlight challenges with the model as linked to resources rather than the model itself; Gardaí – such as detectives – cite geographic issues with the new model (which has merged divisions) in that travelling within an expanded division 'takes up considerable time' on a shift; There is a need to examine the investment still needed in technology to assist in the identification of child sexual abuse material; Where technology has been provided, some divisional Protective Services Units have not been trained in it; Low staffing levels in the Garda Online Child Exploitation Unit and the Sexual Crime Management Unit raise concerns at Garda capacity to investigate such crimes; Despite some progress between Gardaí and Tusla in electronically sharing cases, a data sharing agreement has still not been agreed; Significant progress in the joint specialist interviewer training, used in interviewing children who have been sexually abused, with a cohort of 15 gardaí and 15 Tusla social workers trained last September; Significant progress in public order policing with investment in equipment, vehicles and training; Elsewhere, the report cites 'continued success' in tackling high-level organised crime and drug trafficking, but noted that communities 'remain fearful' and the drug-related intimidation and grooming of children into gangs remained a significant issue. The report commends investment in the Garda National Cyber Security Bureau but noted a 64% increase in cases received in 2024 and said, if that continued, its work in reducing backlogs 'may be reversed'. The report said the 'largest risk' facing the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau was the scale of referrals from financial institutions of fraud incidents. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris recently told an Oireachtas committee he expected he would have 15,200 gardaí, rather than 14,200, by now, but that covid and long recruitment processes had affected this. He had introduced measures to speed up the process and aimed to increase annual capacity at Templemore Garda College from 800 to 1,000.
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Appointments announced for new Garda operating model in Co Donegal
The Garda Operating Model is being introduced as part of A Policing Service for the Future, which is the implementation plan based on the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. This model is recommended by the both the Commission of the Future of Policing in Ireland and the Garda Inspectorate. Detective Superintendent Shaun Grant, based at Buncrana Garda Station will have responsibility for the Donegal Crime Functional Area. The Crime Functional Area, led by a Detective Superintendent, will be responsible for the most serious crime in Donegal Division. Specialist units will be attached to this FA and will support Community Engagement. Superintendent David Kelly of Milford Garda Station will have responsibility for the Donegal Performance Assurance Functional Area. The Performance Assurance Functional Area, led by a Superintendent, will be responsible for governance and courts within the Division. The specialist knowledge brought by this FA will allow the Community Engagement and Crime Superintendents and Inspectors to focus on delivery of an operational service to the public Superintendent Karen Duffy, who is based at Ballyshannon Garda Station, will have responsibility for Donegal South Community Engagement Functional Area. The Community Engagement Functional Areas, led by a Superintendent, will be responsible for front-line core policing. The new model introduces major changes to the structures of An Garda Síochána by providing a wider range of policing services for people in their local area. ADVERTISEMENT It will particularly enhance the investigation of crime through the delivery of a greater range of specialised services in local areas, such as the investigation of sexual crime, domestic violence, cyber-crime, and economic crime. The Operating Model will see the number of Garda Divisions reduce from 28 to 21. Under this new structure, each Division in the country will be organised into four Functional Areas: Community Engagement, Crime, Performance Assurance, and Business Services.
Extra.ie
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
'Enough is enough' - 'Take your foot off our throats' warn Gardaí
Gardaí have threatened to withdraw co-operation from the policing operation for Ireland's EU presidency unless there are discussions about their grievances. Members at the annual Garda Representative Association (GRA) delegate conference passed a motion which stated that they would withdraw from planning meetings for the upcoming presidency. Donegal garda and former GRA president Brendan O'Connor warned management: 'Take your foot off our throats. Enough is enough. We're not being unreasonable. We're not demanding anything. We're asking for the attacks on us to stop.' Donegal garda and former GRA president Brendan O'Connor. Pic: Conor í' Mearáin The motion that was passed calls for discussion on 'subsistence and travel rates, ongoing attempts to reduce injury on duty entitlements, and an agreed suspension policy reflecting input and consultation with the association'. The GRA claims that gardaí are having injury-on-duty payments reduced and says travel and subsidence rates for duty away from home are insufficient. It also insisted that the suspension policy is leaving officers 'languishing' for years. However, Garda Headquarters hit back yesterday, saying there are 96 members suspended out of a total force of 14,200. A spokesman said: 'Of these, 10 are suspended for assault/ assault causing harm, 12 for domestic violence and coercive control, eight for sexual assault and sexual misconduct, 17 for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Gardaí. Pic: Alan Rowlette/ 'Is the GRA saying these gardaí shouldn't be suspended for such alleged serious offences?' Ireland will have the EU presidency from July 1, 2026. The GRA says the move is not a withdrawal of labour, but it will not be cooperating with the planning for events until the problems are tackled. Garda O'Connor said: 'There's a general frustration among our members, and a feeling that their terms and conditions are under constant erosion. 'And what is on the horizon is, again, another major event where our members will be asked to mobilise in large numbers, leave their families, travel long distances. What they're saying is we need a bit of clarity around our terms and conditions that facilitate the policing of those events. 'They're saying don't take our flexibility for granted, because our flexibility and our commitment has not been reciprocated.' The GRA also took aim at the operating policing model, which was introduced in 2019. The new operating model includes restructuring at national, regional, and divisional levels to enable improved delivery of community policing according to local needs. Dublin Metropolitan Region West rep, Detective Mark Ferris, said: 'The current Garda Operating Model just isn't working as intended…. We're still swamped in paperwork and legal processes.'
