Fianna Fáil Senator Catherine Ardagh said the army should assist An Garda Síochana with patrolling the streets of Dublin amid the “increase of crime in our city at nighttime in particular”.
Speaking at a sitting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence she described an increase in “violent outbursts” in the city.
Ardagh said she had heard a lot of “anecdotal evidence” that people in the capital feel “unsafe” suggesting that the army help patrol the streets in light of the reported lack of garda resources.
Addressing the members of the Committee she asked, “What are your thoughts on the army walking the streets of Dublin to help the Garda Síochána at nighttime?” adding, “Obviously Resources are scarce in the Garda Síochána, I know your resources are scarce but it seems like, you know, needed at the moment,”
“There needs to be extra visibility in terms of security on the streets,” she said.
“[T]here needs to be extra visibility in terms of security on the streets of Dublin at the moment and other capitals because crime seems to be hugely on the increase at the moment and it is a very huge concern to citizens,” she said.
Ardagh said she was looking forward to being able to share with her constituents that the Defence Forces are holding a recruitment drive in October saying that she hoped issues relating to an apparent backlog in applicants being accepted would be rectified by additional funding adding that levels of female participation in the reserves was “disappointing”.
The Committee had met to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the findings of a report of the commission on the Defence Forces with a particular focus on the working time directive on Defence Force personnel.
Issues related to Garda personnel numbers have made headlines recently as numbers remain stagnant compared to the expanding population.
In July it was reported that Garda headquarters had hoped to see intakes of five classes with 200 recruits in each but had only managed to take in 135 recruits in February and 154 the following May with the Garda Representative Association (GRA) stating that it was “worried” by the low number of new recruits.
The total strength of An Garda Síochána stands at 13,910 of which 2,419 are detectives and 11,491 are uniformed officers.
Of the 13,910 total Gardaí in the force 9,972 are male while 3,939 are female.