Road safety was among the issues discussed by Taoiseach Simon Harris when he met Garda Commissioner Drew Harris this afternoon.
A direction made by the Garda Commissioner yesterday that all uniformed gardaí conduct 30 minutes of road safety policing per shift has come into effect.
The move has been welcomed by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), but road safety advocacy group PARC (Promoting Awareness, Responsibility and Care) said the focus should be on bolstering dedicated Garda Road Policing Units (GRPUs).
Earlier, Susan Gray, founder of PARC, described the direction as a "sticking plaster on an open wound".
Constructive engagement with the Garda Commissioner and Minister @HMcEntee on a range of issues.
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) April 12, 2024
Supporting the Gardaí in their work will always be a priority for me as Taoiseach. pic.twitter.com/qcTgrTSKrL
Ms Gray said she could not see the measure making any real difference and that she was concerned that the announcement came just hours before an RTÉ Prime Time programme focused on road safety issues was due to air.
She called instead for Commissioner Harris to direct all regions to begin a competitive recruitment process for GRPUs, which have been losing members.
According to the latest official figures, there are now 627 members of GRPUs, down from 688 last year and 692 in 2022.
Ms Gray believes the actual number of active members in the GPRUs is even lower.
"Road policing units cannot be disregarded," she added.
New directive 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' - Tóibín
Last night, Assistant Garda Commissioner with Responsibility for Roads Policing, Paula Hillman, said that she intended to see "75 more members back into roads policing" this year.
Meanwhile, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín described the direction as "extremely frustrating".
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Deputy Tóibín said: "It is a sticking plaster for what is a horrendous wound currently in Irish society.
"It's robbing Peter to pay Paul, it's literally taking gardaí who are absolutely flat out in other areas to be put on to this particular shift."
There are garda stations with hundreds of unanswered voicemails at any one time because gardaí are not there to answer them, and gardaí who are dealing with dozens of cases all at once, Mr Tóibín added.
He said he is aware of gardaí who have been interviewed for roads policing jobs as far back as December 2022 but they still have not been assigned.
"Their stations will not let them go because they are so busy," Deputy Tóibín said.
"Back in 2014, there was 1,046 gardaí on this particular duty, now there is about 640 and that has led to a change in behaviour."
'Frontline resources is major challenge' - AGSI
The demands of desk-based work and frontline resources are major challenges for An Garda Síochána, the Association for Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has said.
In a statement, AGSI said: "Frontline resources is a major challenge coupled with the demands of desk-based work on our members (Sergeants & Inspectors) is well documented by us.
"The commissioner is trying to counteract the increase in road deaths with the deployment of scarce resources as best he can.
"The underlying problem is the Commissioner does not have sufficient resources available which is a direct result of a recruitment and retention crisis which Government have not addressed despite repeated warnings.
"Resources are then being deployed reactively as opposed to proactively."
Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht Thomas Byrne said he looks forward to seeing the directive "contributing in some way to changes in behaviour."
He said he has "no doubt" the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner discuss roads policing issues on a regular basis.
"I certainly want them to be discussing them on a regular basis," he added.
Half hour roads policing is 'not the answer' - Hourigan
Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan also said that while she welcomed having more garda visibility to make streets safer she did not think this initiative was "the answer to reducing increasing road deaths".
She said more gardaí are needed and that "most communities want to see them tackling crime and anti-social behaviour and I'm not sure how well it will work to arbitrarily say 30 minutes a day [for roads policing]."
Ms Hourigan also said there are other enforcement options that are not currently being used which would take some of the burden away from gardaí.
"Things like red light traffic cameras ... traffic enforcement in bus lanes would be really important, also online reporting," she said.
Read more:
Rising road deaths: Why is Ireland bucking the European trend?
RSA reform recommendations due in coming months - Chambers
