armed support unit

A number of highly trained officers have effectively been “left on the shelf” according to the Garda union.

GARDAÍ WHO TRAINED up and qualified two years ago for the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) have still not been deployed despite staffing fears in some regions.

It has left units short for responses to serious incidents, according to a delegate from the Garda Representatives Association (GRA) from the Eastern region. The shortage is said to be among the most acute in the Kildare and Meath units.

It’s almost six years after a group of up to 30 candidates first applied for the specialised roles, meaning a number of the highly-trained gardaí have been “left on the shelf” while units from other corners of the country are tasked to incidents in Kildare and Meath.

A number of the gardaí carried out their 13-week-long pre-deployment training 18 months ago – with the expectation they would be take up roles in the elite unit shortly after.

The issue was raised by a number of gardaí who spoke to The Journal at the annual Garda conference that took place in Killarney in recent days.

It’s thought that the removal of some gardaí from front-line policing roles to the specialist units may be partly to blame for the delays in deployment.

Garda John Joe O’Connell, central executive committee member representing the Kildare division of the GRA, said the delays to the hiring process for the ASU were “absolutely ridiculous”, putting safety of gardaí and the public “at risk” as a result.

Speaking to The Journal at the GRA conference in Co Kerry, O’Connell said it was also “unfair” on the officers who had put themselves forward for the positions in 2019.

He pointed to the current ASU units based in Mullingar and Newbridge which he said are “under-resourced” due to a combination of promotions, transfers and retirements.

“This is a very serious and committed unit for the protection of the public and other members of An Garda Síochána. They are there to assist the public and their colleagues in the most dangerous of situations,” O’Connell added.

“We have had plenty of fit, able and willing male and female members who upskilled themselves but six years later, these vacancies are still there and we can’t understand the reluctance.”

File photo of a member of the Armed Support Unit standing outside the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin. Sasko Lazarov Sasko Lazarov

O’Connell said that each of the successful Garda candidates have gone through “high-intense training but are still waiting” to know their future despite having qualified.

“This is a competition that was launched in 2019 seeking applicants for the Armed Support Unit nationwide. Hundreds of people applied for those vacancies,” he said.

“Instead, members of the ASU unit in the likes of Waterford must travel to Mullingar to respond to calls in that region.”

O’Connell said that some of the blame for the delay can be attributes to the pandemic, but argued that period was “well back in the rearview mirror” at this stage and threatened further action from the Garda union.

“So six years on, we have people who applied and most definitely have waited this out rather than going down other career paths in An Garda Síochána or elsewhere. On a professional level we find this absolutely ridiculous and are looking at avenues of going into dispute over this.”

Garda headquarters response

The Garda Press Office said that while it does not comment on the operational details and deployment in specific units, it was “happy to clarify that there is currently effective operational capacity at this time” operating within the Armed Support Unit.

“The allocation of resources, including the Armed Support Unit, is managed to ensure effective policing and public safety and is kept under constant review by local and senior Garda management,” a Garda spokesperson said.

The spokesperson pointed to a new Armed Support Unit Centre opened at Enniscorthy Garda Station in January of this year to serve Wexford and Wicklow, part of the Eastern region.

The statement from Garda headquarters confirmed that an internal competition for Armed Support Personnel commenced in 2019 and was “delayed due to Covid-19 for a period of time”.

“The final selected members concluded their pre-deployment training recently. A small number of personnel await allocation to particular ASU bases in Dublin and nationwide,” the spokesperson said.

“Personnel are allocated according to operational requirements and other considerations. This is reviewed by Garda management on an ongoing basis.”