THE NUMBER OF garda reserves across the country has fallen to under 800 in the past four months.
New figures released to Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’Callaghan showed how there were 1,179 reservists at the beginning of 2014. This number has now fallen a further 13% in the four-month period between June and September to 756.
Depleted
The biggest drop was in the Dublin South Central district where the number fell by a further 12% since May of this year.
O’Callaghan said: “Concerns have been expressed for some time on not utilising the significant potential of the garda reserve. This poses a much bigger challenge if the numbers continue to fall.
“The Garda Inspectorate report, published last December, indicated that despite receiving considerable training, reserves are not consistently or strategically maximised for operational purposes.
Just last month it was stated that there are plans afoot to more than double the number of garda reserves nationally. This would bring the strength of the force up to 2,000. I am calling on the minister to kick start this process without delay.
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