Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan says he wants more garda feet on the street, to double the number of civilian members, and that “reform needs to be embraced” across the force.
Mr Flanagan said he will be looking at Garda overtime, rostering, and overall spending in the force and discussing those with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe ahead of the budget.
His comments, in an interview with the Irish Examiner, come as Garda associations call for reforms to be resourced or for the Government to manage public expectations.
Ahead of a report next month on the future of policing, Mr Flanagan said: “What I want to see in An Garda Síochána is availability and visibility. I want to accelerate the process within An Garda Síochána.
I want to get gardaí out from behind the desks, I want to get them out on full-time policing duties, doing best what they are trained to do.
“That will involve a greater level of civilianisation. And I want to see 4,000 civilian personnel in An Garda Síochána in three years’ time.”
The Policing Authority said in a report this week that “the pace of redeployment continues to be of concern” and that just 100 gardaí have been reassigned to operational duties to date. The latest figures show there were 13,317 gardaí and 2,302 civilian personnel in the force in May.
Mr Flanagan said civilianisation will be a priority for the Garda commissioner when he takes up his role next month. Garda unions will also be consulted.
“This will be a priority of commissioner [Drew] Harris. I’m not happy with the rate of progress to date. There are industrial relations issues, there are issues with the representative associations.
"I want the gardaí, at every level, to embrace the process of civilianisation.
What I want, what Government wants, and what the people want is to see gardaí trained in the day-to-day duties that they are trained for.
Civilian members would bring skills necessary for a modern police service, explained Mr Flanagan, such as bookkeeping, accountancy, and IT.
The Policing Authority report said there are “fundamental flaws” preventing modernisation of the force, including barriers to driver training, human resources, ICT, and garda accommodation.
Garda representatives said funding is lacking for new recruits. Money is needed to back reforms, said John Jacob, general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors general secretary John Jacob: “From our perspective, you either resource the organisation to deliver on what the public expects or you don’t give them the resources and you manage the public’s expectation about what can be achieved.”
The question of spending on the force, and specifically garda overtime payments, will come into focus
in the weeks ahead as October’s budget looms. The report on the future of policing, set to be finished next month, is also expected to address garda rostering hours when finished next month.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently said gardaí are “often not rostered when they are needed” and that may mean “asking people to do rosters that they consider to be antisocial”.
Mr Flanagan said Garda rostering is a concern. “Obviously the question of hours and rostering and overtime is an issue. We currently have just over €100m available to the gardaí in overtime.”
It is hoped additional recruits will reduce down these costs, said Mr Flanagan. “As 500 new gardaí hit the streets on a yearly basis, the reliance on garda overtime will not be as is. But this is something that can be worked through in the context of rostering under commissioner Harris.”
There are concerns around the overall Garda bill ahead of budget negotiations, said Mr Flanagan. “I expect results for these monies. I will be discussing these issues with Minister Donohoe. I know he is concerned at the Garda budget.”