IMPACT has welcomed the Budget 2018 announcement that 500 additional civilian staff will be recruited to An Garda Síochána in 2018.

IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike said the additional staff, while falling short of the call by the Civil, Public and Services Union (CPSU) for 1,000 additional civilian staff last year , was a step toward improving the capacity for policing throughout the country.

“IMPACT supported the CPSU's position on this issue. We didn’t expect to see the target reached overnight, but this announcement is a step in the direction of achieving the Policing Authority’s target of having civilian garda staff comprise 20% of the Garda workforce by 2021.

“The real value of this approach is that it frees up gardaí to engage directly in policing duties, which is a far better use of garda resources, and of much greater benefit to communities throughout the country,” he said.

The recruitment target was announced last week as part of Budget 2018 by Minister for Finance & Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe TD. The recruitment is part of a €63 million budgetary programme to enable the Department of Justice to develop the police force, including the recruitment of 800 additional gardaí.