Whatever the outcome of the tortuous Brexit deliberations in the UK, the Government here seems determined to show any new Border barriers will be economic rather than security focused.
The view is in contrast to that in Northern Ireland, where PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has been allocated special funding to recruit an additional 308 officers and staff to deal with Brexit demands.
And while welcoming the boost to the strength of the PSNI at a cost of £16.5m (€19m), the Police Federation there has warned a hard exit from the EU could create the need for further financial resources.
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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is adamant the Garda force will not be expanded because of Brexit, relying instead on Garda numbers rising by 600, compared with a year ago, as a result of existing recruitment plans.
But this response concerns many senior officers in the northern region, where there is a belief Dublin underestimates the problems which could arise from the growth in smuggling and immigration stemming from the changes, as well as the threatened resurgence of violence by dissident republicans anxious to exploit Brexit.
The number of Border crossings has quadrupled as a result of the peace process and, according to the Association of Garda Superintendents, these will create corridors to be exploited by criminal gangs, while garda numbers during the Troubles were at least three times the current levels.
A by-product of the peace process was the significant reduction in the policing presence in the Border region as officers were pulled back to increase numbers in major urban centres, beset by increases in crime and gang feuding.
This cannot be reversed without a drastic impact on gardaí in cities and big towns.
And withdrawing personnel from rural areas, which are only starting to recover from the wave of burglaries and thefts in recent years, would create uproar.
Most of the legislative problems emanating from Brexit, in areas such as extradition and immigration, look likely to be sorted out relatively quickly, although the 30pc increase in asylum applications since the Brexit vote has raised eyebrows.
The Government is gambling that existing recruitment plans will be sufficient to provide the extra numbers necessary to meet required manpower levels along the Border.
Arguments that hundreds of extra gardaí can be released from administrative duties to front-line policing have been around for more than a decade and we are yet to see any significant dividends on the streets.
The Taoiseach changed his position dramatically since November, when he said there was no need for contingency planning in the event of a hard Brexit, to comments in Davos in January about the Army being deployed on the Border in a worst-case scenario.
Will the force have the numbers to perform duties to the standards expected of them?
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Tom Brady: 'Fears that threat from smuggling and dissidents is underestimated'
Tom Brady: 'Fears that threat from smuggling and dissidents is underestimated'
Whatever the outcome of the tortuous Brexit deliberations in the UK, the Government here seems determined to show any new Border barriers will be economic rather than security focused.
The view is in contrast to that in Northern Ireland, where PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton has been allocated special funding to recruit an additional 308 officers and staff to deal with Brexit demands.
And while welcoming the boost to the strength of the PSNI at a cost of £16.5m (€19m), the Police Federation there has warned a hard exit from the EU could create the need for further financial resources.
Please sign in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.
Sign In
New to Independent.ie? Sign up
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is adamant the Garda force will not be expanded because of Brexit, relying instead on Garda numbers rising by 600, compared with a year ago, as a result of existing recruitment plans.
But this response concerns many senior officers in the northern region, where there is a belief Dublin underestimates the problems which could arise from the growth in smuggling and immigration stemming from the changes, as well as the threatened resurgence of violence by dissident republicans anxious to exploit Brexit.
The number of Border crossings has quadrupled as a result of the peace process and, according to the Association of Garda Superintendents, these will create corridors to be exploited by criminal gangs, while garda numbers during the Troubles were at least three times the current levels.
A by-product of the peace process was the significant reduction in the policing presence in the Border region as officers were pulled back to increase numbers in major urban centres, beset by increases in crime and gang feuding.
This cannot be reversed without a drastic impact on gardaí in cities and big towns.
And withdrawing personnel from rural areas, which are only starting to recover from the wave of burglaries and thefts in recent years, would create uproar.
Most of the legislative problems emanating from Brexit, in areas such as extradition and immigration, look likely to be sorted out relatively quickly, although the 30pc increase in asylum applications since the Brexit vote has raised eyebrows.
The Government is gambling that existing recruitment plans will be sufficient to provide the extra numbers necessary to meet required manpower levels along the Border.
Arguments that hundreds of extra gardaí can be released from administrative duties to front-line policing have been around for more than a decade and we are yet to see any significant dividends on the streets.
The Taoiseach changed his position dramatically since November, when he said there was no need for contingency planning in the event of a hard Brexit, to comments in Davos in January about the Army being deployed on the Border in a worst-case scenario.
Will the force have the numbers to perform duties to the standards expected of them?
Source: Read Full Article