OVER 40 NEW recruits who will take up positions checking passports at Dublin Airport started work today.
The 42 civil servants will replace gardaí at the capital’s airport who currently check travellers’ documents after they arrive.
The move to civilianise the process was announced by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald in September. Now, the 42 new civil servants have begun their roles within the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
The airport civilianisation programme will release some 75 gardaí for other policing work, yielding approximately €4 million in savings annually.
The recruits will now commence a training programme in preparation for their new roles. Further assignments of civilian immigration officers will be made over the coming months to complete the civilianisation of border control at the airport later this year.
This will bring the total civilian immigration officers at the Airport to 80, including 16 civilians already assigned to border control duties.
Fitzgerald says that the move will mean more gardaí in communities.
“As part of my focus on reforming policing in Ireland, this initiative is targeted at civilianising non–frontline Garda tasks to free Gardaí for core policing duties and to provide a visible policing service in our communities.”
Gardaí will continue to police the airport.
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