The number of gardai will stand at it's highest ever figure today when hundreds of trainees are sworn into the force in Templemore.
Following the attestation of 319 new Gardaí in an Attestation Ceremony at the Garda Training College, Templemore, An Garda Síochána has grown to an organisation of 14,758, the largest number of sworn Gardaí in the history of the State.
The newly attested Gardaí are part of An Garda Síochána’s range of measures to maximise operational availability and support other vital public services in responding to the COVID-19 situation.
As well as these newly attested gardai, Commissioner Drew Harris has made a number of changes that will see additional resources available to support communities.
Some of these changes include amendments to rosters, restricted annual leave, delaying retirements where possible, hiring an additional 210 community support vehicles and the redeployment of personnel including 124 personnel from the Garda Training College, who have been redeployed across all four Regions.
The newly attested Gardaí will be assigned to the Regions as follows:
· Dublin Region – 65 new Gardaí assigned
· Eastern Region – 94 new Gardaí assigned
· Southern Region – 80 new Gardaí assigned
· North Western Region – 80 new Gardaí assigned
Garda members working as tutors/instructors in the Garda College will be redeployed at Garda, Sergeant and Inspector level to operational duties or essential training services in the following regions:
· Dublin Region – 7 personnel redeployed
· Eastern Region – 59 personnel redeployed
· Southern Region – 56 personnel redeployed
· North Western Region – 2 personnel redeployed
Commissioner Harris has designated the ongoing situation as an "exceptional event” in accordance with the Working Time Agreement.
