IRELAND HAS had a historic day today as the number of sworn in Gardaí has reached its highest numbers in the history of the State.
An Garda Síochána now have a total of 14,758 active officers, the highest numbers since the foundation of the state when the Royal Irish Constabulary was disbanded.
319 new officers were today sworn in at a ceremony at the Garda Training College in Templemore as part of Garda measures to expand operations to ensure maximum availability and support for Irish communities in light of the rising coronavirus crisis.
65 new officers will be based in Dublin, 94 in the Eastern region of Ireland, 80 in the Southern region and 80 in the North Western region.
Newly sworn-in Gardaí celebrate in Templemore in 2018 (Image: Gardaí)As part of the new measures to limit the detrimental impact of covid-19 in communities, Gardaí have also amended rosters, restricted planned annual leave by Gardaí, delayed retirements of officers and redeployed 124 officers who had been employed as personnel at the Garda Training College.
On Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner John Twomey announced that Gardaí would be supporting "the most vulnerable in our society, particularly our elderly and isolated."
210 new contingency vehicles were acquired in order to "assist and support people, which may include collecting medical prescriptions, attending hospital appointments and other supports they may need", according to a statement from Gardaí at the time, and these measures have now come into play, with extra Garda personnel assisting the elderly, vulnerable and isolated to stay safe in these uncertain times-- you can read about that here.
An Garda Síochána have set up a COVID-19 National Co-Ordination Unit which meets daily in order to monitor the ever-evolving situation.
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