Tipperary TD slams proposal to train gardaí outside local Tipperary town

Proposals by Fianna Fail to provide Garda training in colleges and universities outside of Templemore have been met with furious reactions in North Tipperary, says Deputy Michael Lowry.

"Templemore has been the sole Training College for Gardai since 1964. It has provided effective and robust training in a purpose-designed and built setting to every Garda in this country.

"Now, in what amounts to a General Election sound-byte, the outgoing Fianna Fail Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne, wants to offer training in colleges and universities outside of Templemore.

"This would undermine the status of Templemore Garda College, fragment vital training regimes, disconnect the Trainee Gardai and ultimately damage the envied reputation that dedicated Garda Training in Ireland holds across Europe.

Throughout training, a Garda Trainee undergoes a 104-week Training Programme in Templemore. Once they have completed this programme in full, they will have attained a BA Degree in Applied Policing (level 7), which is accredited by the
University of Limerick. All of this takes place within the dedicated setting of the Training College.

"Fianna Fáil now wants to ‘shake up’ Garda recruitment by offering training in Colleges and Universities outside of Templemore, with the aim of increasing Garda numbers’ says Deputy Lowry.

"They base this idea on the fanciful notion that those wishing to become Gardai currently have to 'give up what they are doing' and move down to Templemore for Training.

"Ironically, they have failed to consider that the vast majority of people training or studying for any career will most likely have to relocate to do so, as not all students live near Third Level education centres.

"Moving to Templemore is what Garda Trainees have been doing since the Training College opened in February 1964. It has worked effectively for 60 years, largely because it is a central location, a purpose-designed facility and is
synonymous with Garda Training.

"It is ridiculous to say that more Trainees would enroll if there were other alternative locations to undergo training. It is even more ridiculous to say that someone would forgo their career ambition rather than move to a facility that is purpose-built to meet their training needs for a designated time.

"Improvements in pay and working conditions is what both Recruits and Gardai are calling for, and prioritising these matters is the only way to encourage more men and women into the Force," concluded Deputy Lowry.