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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has called for Commissioner Drew Harris to set an objective to encourage more ethnic minorities to join the Garda\u00ed.<\/p>\nTaoiseach Leo Varadkar has called for Commissioner Drew Harris to set an objective to encourage more ethnic minorities to join the Garda\u00ed.<\/p>\n
It comes as some 197 new gardai graduated at the Garda College in Templemore today.<\/p>\n
Garda numbers have risen to over 14,300 and is set to reach 15,000 by 2021.<\/p>\n
The new graduates will be sent to Dublin, Limerick, Cork and the border area.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mr Varadkar called for greater ethnic diversity in the force.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cOur role models should reflect who we are as a society, and the same is true of our gardai.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe it is the visible presence of gardai on the streets and in our communities that reassures the public and deters crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we have over 14,300 gardai on our streets \u2013 that\u2019s more than for a very long time \u2013 aided by 2,900 garda staff nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese numbers are increasing and our ambition is to reach a total workforce of 21,000 by the end of next year. We are on target to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ceremony brings to 3,000 the number of new Garda\u00ed that have attested and been assigned to frontline policing duties since the reopening of the Garda College in 2014.<\/p>\n
The new Garda\u00ed will be sent to areas of high levels of crime around the country.<\/p>\n
Welcoming the new recruits, Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan said: \u201cAll communities will gain, through having more frontline gardai and a more localized policing service with greater decision-making power and expertise in each division.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Flanagan said the current laws on racism, incitement to hatred and hate crime need to be reviewed.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe existing legal provision for hate as an aggravating factor in sentencing is not broadly understood in the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe time is right to review our laws and reassess what is necessary and effective to stamp out hate speech and hate crime in Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Department is working as a priority to develop and improve our legislation on both hate speech and hate crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to understand people\u2019s experience and ensure that the new laws we will introduce in this field are robust, clearly understood and effective. And so a public consultation on incitement to hatred is currently being carried out by my Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also close to finalizing research on the effectiveness of the different legislative approaches to tackling hate crime in other countries \u2014 to learn from best practice.<\/p>\n
While Cork city will see 32 new recruits over the next month, the city will then lose 24 of these officers in the new year when they are moved to different stations in the Southern division.<\/p>\n
Limerick will also see an extra 32 officers, however it will only keep four of the new recruits with the rest moved to Kildare, Longford, Carlow and Tipperary.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Mr Harris said it is essential that gardai take on the issues that blight communities, including street level drug dealing.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis is not just a criminal act, but a quality of life issue for communities, particularly when it takes place in public.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only that, but it provides profits for major drugs gangs and enslaves people to drug addiction, which in turn can lead them to a life of crime to feed their habit and even death.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to break this cycle and do it early. We will do this not only by concentrating on traffickers and dealers but also with the community, by a concentration on community policing and a localized policing service.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolicing is not an easy choice, there is no doubt that being a member of An Garda Siochana will test you mentally and physically, it will expose you to difficult situations, it will require diligence, commitment and courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the 197 new recruits, 14 were born outside of the State, including Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, America, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
Some 34% of the new garda are women. The percentage of women in the gardai has risen from 18.5% in 2006 to 28% today and is now above the European average.<\/p>\n