Thurles Information

Confirmation from the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern that the Garda College in Templemore is safe, has been received by Independent Deputy Michael Lowry. Mr Lowry sought the assurances after local Templemore Town Councillors spoke of ‘rumours of imminent closure’ due to the current recruitment embargo. However operations at the college are expected to be cut back.

Templemore Garda Training College

Plans for the 220-acre site at Clonmore, latter situated close to Templemore, Thurles, Co.Tipperary, which was ear marked for use as a firearms and as a tactical training facility three years ago, for €5.5 million, still remain on hold.

Minister Ahern assured Mr Lowry that the College would “not be closed for any period of time not withstanding the current recruitment embargo and the college will remains an integral part of the infrastructure of An Garda Síochána. It will continue to be used to train and up skill existing members of the force.”
Deputy Lowry communicated this information to a specially convened meeting of Templemore town Councillors and North Tipperary Oireachtas representatives in Templemore town hall on Monday night.

The Chief Superintendent Mr Jack Nolan, in charge of the college, has already assured all permanent staff at the college that their positions are safe. There is a problem with the positions of some of the catering staff at the college as they are not officially on the Department of Justice payroll, but a solution is currently being sought.

Deputy Lowry Stated:-

” While undoubtedly I would prefer new recruits to be going through the college and onto our streets, the current embargo gives the Gardaì the opportunity to engage in further training and up skilling for its current personnel. The main problem the force is experiencing at present is the retirement of senior members, and the vacuum of expertise and leadership that this has left. The recruitment freeze allows the Garda College the capacity to allow the training of existing officers for more senior and specialised roles, so that some of this deficit can be addressed.”

All eyes will now be focused on the implementation of changes to garda work practices recommended in last week’s report by the Garda Chief Inspector, former Boston police commissioner Kathleen O’Toole, to see if these changes will in any way effect the college’s future.

Chief Inspector O’Toole, in her recent published report, entitled ‘Resourse Allocation‘, recommends that advantage should be taken of future opportunities to acquire civilian staff with the required skills who may become available through increased mobility across the public service. Future recruitment of police officers should be linked to progress towards achieving an initial minimum target ratio of one member of police staff to every three serving police officers.

Following on from the disturbing Murphy Report recently published, which deals with child sex abuse in the diocese of Dublin, the Minister of State for Children, Mr Barry Andrews TD is proposing that the Garda Central Vetting Unit, currently based in Thurles, be put on a statutory basis with responsibility for the management of all soft and hard information relevant to allegations or suspicions of child abuse in the State.

Barry Andrews TD

This statutory body, now proposed, would run similar to the layout of the present Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB,  An Biúró um Shócmhainní Coiriúla) and the first stages of a bill is currently being prepared, in co-operation with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, for eventual presentation to the Government.

The proposed agency will be led by the Gardaí, with the HSE, Revenue Commissioners, Department of Social and Family Affairs and other relevant support groups working closely under their leadership.

This expected legislation will automatically take into account each persons constitutional rights, the right to equality before the law, the right to privacy, the right to a good name, and the right to earn a livelihood.

Contrary to popular belief the Thurles Garda Central Vetting Unit, which was decentralised to Thurles, Co.Tipperary in 2007, does not provide clearance for persons to work with children, vulnerable adults or any other capacity. The function of the Garda Vetting Unit and the vetting process has been to disclose details regarding all prosecutions, whether successful or not, whether pending or completed, and – or all convictions.

It will therefore be interesting to see how this proposed new body will co-exist if approved by government.