THE DEPARTMENT of Justice has recommended the number of gardaí carrying firearms be reduced by almost three-quarters to save money.
Under the proposal, only detectives attached to specialist Garda units such as the emergency response unit and the anti- terrorist special detective unit would carry firearms.
There are currently 3,616 gardaí licensed to carry firearms.
The review of expenditure has recommended this be reduced to 1,000, to deliver an estimated €2.7 million in savings every year.
The reduced expenditure would be achieved through the reduced use of ammunition and targets in practice ranges and reduced expenses for firearms instructors and gardaí attending firearms courses. The significant reduction in the number of gardaí carrying firearms would represent a major shift for the force, an organisation in which all detectives have carried guns for decades.
Other mooted measures involve greatly reduced flying hours for the Garda helicopter – from 1,800 flying hours annually to 800. This would achieve savings of €400,0000 in 2012.
The 1,200-strong Garda Traffic Corps would be broken up to free up personnel for other duties, despite being arguably the biggest success story of Irish policing over the past decade. It has been credited with leading the change in driver culture and ushering in a new era of lower road fatalities.
Some members of the traffic corps would be deployed elsewhere to fill vacancies as a spike in Garda retirements and the public-sector recruitment moratorium continues to run down the overall strength of the force.
The justice section of the comprehensive review of public expenditure notes of the traffic corps scaling-back: “Such a move is likely to attract negative criticism from agencies with a vested interest in road safety. However, a measured reduction could be publicly justified with an appropriate communications strategy.”
The Garda Band was considered for closure, but the Department of Justice’s submission to the spending review decided against recommending its disbandment on the basis any saving would be negligible because 96 per cent of its budget is pay-related.
The spending review suggested the worsening overcrowding crisis in the prison system, coming at a time when no funding is available for new jails, should be tackled with the electronic tagging of prisoners. A search has already begun for 100 suitable inmates to release early from jail on tags in order to free up spaces. If deemed successful, the plan would be expanded.
A range of measures to raise revenue for the Garda have also been put forward. These include increasing charges to sporting bodies for Garda crowd control and public-order services for events such as major GAA fixtures and rugby and soccer internationals.
Charges for Garda escorts for transporting commercial explosives have also been suggested.
