IMPACT and other unions representing civilian staff in An Garda Síochána met with the Garda Commissioner and senior Garda management in early January. The meeting followed concerns about the lack of civilian recruitment, which had been raised by unions at a civilian council meeting last December. 

The commissioner reaffirmed the commitment of An Garda Síochána to increased civilian recruitment and to growing the role of civilian staff within the force. Plans are in place to recruit 800 Gardaí this year along with 300 reserves and 500 civilians.

The Commissioner also recognised the “sterling” commitment of civilian staff and said An Garda Síochána had no desire to keep Gardaí in roles that could be carried out by a civilian.

IMPACT industrial relations officer Shane Lambert said: “Current recruitment plans include an increase the number of civilians from 2,000 to 4,000 over the coming five years.  The Commissioner outlined the recruitment process under the Civilian First programme. This requires that each post that becomes vacant now will be assessed to see if it may be filled by a civilian in the first instance.

“Management recently received sanction from the Policing Authority to fill 91 civilian posts, with a particular focus on IT and human resources. The commissioner said she didn’t see the process as automatically replacing Gardaí with civilians, but rather a process to professionalise the force through civilianisation,” he said.