Fine Gael TD Noel Coonan has said that the political will is there to speed up the recruitment of gardai to fight rural crime.
Deputy Coonan was commenting after asking the Justice Minister to address the recent spate of crime and what the agencies involved intend to do about it.
In response, Deputy Coonan was told that at present there is a shortage of 32 gardai across Co Tipperary’s policing districts, but that a commitment has been given by the Garda Commissioner to maintaining a larger garda presence in public. A further commitment has been given to increase garda recruitment to boost overall numbers
.
However, Deputy Coonan has suggested to the minister that the funding be sought to undertake a once-off recruitment campaign to train a large number of gardai to swell numbers quickly. While the minister did not commit to a specific number, he claims she supports his suggestion that a surge in numbers should be lobbied for.
