Higher pay needed to attract new gardaí, says councillor

Salary levels for new garda recruits were criticised at a meeting of Cavan County Council last week.

Raising the motion, Councillor T.P. O’Reilly stated the wages on offer are too low to “encourage recruitment”.

The force has embarked in a high profile recruitment campaign to attract more gardaí. Garda trainees attest after 33 weeks and move onto the first point of the Garda incremental pay scale of €34,572.

Addressing the meeting, the Fine Gael representative stated potential applicants need to “afford a house and have a career that pays them adequately”, which he believes is not the case with the current pay scale.

He requested a letter be sent to the Minister for Justice requesting the proposed salary be increased to encourage more applications. Fianna Fáil Councillor Philip Brady supported the motion.