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An Garda Síochána via Facebook

There are going to be 87 more gardaí on Ireland's roads

The appointments come as part of the force’s Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021.

87 NEW ROAD members of the Garda Roads Policing unit have been appointed throughout the country.

The appointments come as part of the force’s Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021. The programme has seen the Traffic Corps unit renamed Roads Policing and today 80 gardaí and seven sergeants were appoint to units across the country.

A further 63 gardaí have been successful in a recent competition and will be appointed in October 2018, bringing the total number of Gardaí in Roads Policing to over 700.

Further appointments will be made in 2019, 2020 and 2021 in order to reach a commitment given by the Garda Commissioner to incrementally increase the numbers in Roads Policing to 1,031 by 2021.

Deputy Garda Commissioner John Twomey told the newly appointed members that they will play a key role in making our roads safer and protecting road users.

Guards

Commissioner Twomey also said that this must be done “with the support of the community and encouraged members to be utterly professional in their work, to be balanced in their actions and be both reasonable and proportionate in the execution of their duties”.

Last year was the safest year recorded on Irish roads and the challenge is to continue the hard work to ensure that the downward trend in road deaths and serious injuries continues.

The newly-selected members will be deployed throughout Dublin and the rest of the country, strengthening existing units and creating new ones.

Swinford in Mayo sees a new unit established with a sergeant and five gardaí appointed and Tipperary sees their units also increase by six gardaí while Clare will get an additional sergeant and four gardaí.

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57 Comments
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    Mute Ted Logan
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    May 1st 2018, 12:15 PM

    Drive nearly 50,000kms a year. Very rarely see Gardai on the roads. Never been breathalysed and have come across lees than 5 checkpoints in last 4/5 years.

    Visibility of Gardai will go a long way for people checking their poor driving behaviour.

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    Mute David Huston
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    May 1st 2018, 12:51 PM

    @Ted Logan: Just drive near a school at letting out time, you’ll see them taking cars off women for no tax any day of the week, And yes my cars are taxed, and no they have never taken a car off me.I just hat to see wasted resources.

    91
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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 1:28 PM

    @David Huston: why do you be hanging around schools at letting out time? Is it all school or do you have a favourite

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    Mute Joe Conlon
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    May 1st 2018, 2:03 PM

    @David Huston: ambulance for David Huston please, he just got burnt!!

    37
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    Mute David Huston
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    May 1st 2018, 2:22 PM

    @Joe Conlon: Yawn.Go get you free coffee Joe.

    15
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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 2:27 PM

    @David Huston: asking a legitimate question is not putting out rumours? You could be a teacher, a warden to help kids cross the road, a parent collecting children. Why the hell would you think “kiddy fiddling”.

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    Mute Stephen Devlin
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    May 1st 2018, 2:34 PM

    @Ted Logan: That’s because they are all on the border. Nearly every day along with customs out chasing people for VRT.

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    Mute David Huston
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    May 1st 2018, 2:41 PM

    @Ohhh_reeally: Its what people like you do, Imply and intimate things, Now the schools are out off you go catch some woman in her slippers and make her walk home with the kids.

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    Mute Fred Coloe
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    May 1st 2018, 3:14 PM

    @David Huston: how is taking an untaxed car of a driver equal to a waste of resources??? A car insurance policy is invalid if the vehicle is not taxed correctly!!

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 3:35 PM

    @Fred Coloe: no its not

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    Mute Denis McClean
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    May 2nd 2018, 1:32 AM

    @Ted Logan: Lucky you. We get stopped day or night and they get very upset and n even threatening when I dare to ask why I’m being stopped on the public highway for doing nothing more than using it.

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 4th 2018, 5:24 PM

    @Denis McClean: that’s the only reason needed

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    Mute Gregory Peck
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    May 1st 2018, 1:06 PM

    What about sulky racing?

    73
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    Mute FlopFlipU
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    May 1st 2018, 12:08 PM

    They would be better on the footpath ,the roads can be dangerous

    66
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    Mute Tom Purcell
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    May 1st 2018, 1:08 PM

    @FlopFlipU: no the foothpaths are just as dangerous, given the number of cyclists who use them rather than the cycle lane a few cm away.

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    Mute Cian Rynne
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    May 1st 2018, 2:24 PM

    @Tom Purcell: the statistics of how many gets killed on roads vs on the paths would poke a few holes in that statement.

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    Mute Rob
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    May 1st 2018, 8:47 PM

    @Tom Purcell: Maybe if all the cars didn’t use the cycle lanes as free parking…

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    May 1st 2018, 12:32 PM

    You would need 10 times that to have an impact on the shocking driving standards in this country.

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    Mute Trev Mooney
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    May 1st 2018, 12:46 PM

    More great lads to shoot fish in a barrel with their speed guns, be great if we could have some effective policing to catch the thieving scrotes around the place.

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    May 1st 2018, 12:54 PM

    @Trev Mooney: Yeah, but if drivers would obey the traffic laws and drive in a responsible manner, we wouldn’t need so many traffic police and they could be doing other things. Too much to hope for though.

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    Mute Alan Kelly
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    May 1st 2018, 12:56 PM

    @Trev Mooney: if less people exceeded the speed limits, this would free up Garda resources to do what you call “real” police work.

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 1:31 PM

    @Trev Mooney: every single country in the world that has a police force have a section to deal with traffic but you want ours disbanded because you know better. Grow up you ars€h0le

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    Mute Termaz Fx
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    May 1st 2018, 2:09 PM

    @Alan Kelly: if the speed limits were more realistic people wouldn’t exceed them.

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    May 1st 2018, 2:59 PM

    @Termaz Fx: we can’t all just make up the law’s to suit ourselves, even if you think a speed limit is not appropriate, you still have to follow it. That’s the law.

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    Mute Trevor Hayden
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    May 1st 2018, 12:32 PM

    To protect the hutch/kinahan families, no doubt.
    If they are going to increase protection, use it for the elderly and isolated.

    54
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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    May 1st 2018, 12:51 PM

    @Trevor Hayden: did you even read beyond the headline? They’re going to be traffic cops

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    Mute Trevor Hayden
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    May 1st 2018, 4:05 PM

    @Dermot Lane: Yes I did, and without the hutch/kinahan personal protection team we’d have even more traffic corp.

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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    May 1st 2018, 1:13 PM

    Great news.I hope they get the vital technology equipment that is needed in the cars to detect uninsured vehicles.So many uninsured cars on our roads are pushing up insurance premiums .
    Also a 10 year ban for anyone caught with no insurance.

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    Mute Termaz Fx
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    May 1st 2018, 2:12 PM

    @Gerry Fallon: capping insurance prices at 300-500eu (the EU average) would eliminate at least 90% of those uninsured drivers.
    And stop being such a drama queen, your grandad drove just fine without any insurance.

    41
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    Mute Oisín O'Connor
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    May 1st 2018, 6:46 PM

    @Termaz Fx: I suspect 100% of your stats are made up.

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    Mute Johnny Mason
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    May 1st 2018, 12:08 PM

    87 seems like a believable number you wouldn’t just chuck a number like that out to the unsuspecting public !

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    Mute OMG!
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    May 1st 2018, 12:42 PM

    Deputy Commissioner Twomey asked that Gardaí ‘…be balanced in their actions’. This I would hope includes them prosecuting their own for RTA offences including driving under the influence of alcohol.

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 1:32 PM
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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 1:33 PM
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    Mute Paul
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    May 1st 2018, 2:32 PM

    @Ohhh_reeally: jaysus, two burns in the one article, you’re on fire today!!

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 2:38 PM

    @Paul: not that hard on the journal to be fair

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    Mute hw007
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    May 1st 2018, 2:32 PM

    I have seen guards break more traffic rules . Using phone while driving and speeding through villages

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    Mute Stephen Devlin
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    May 1st 2018, 2:37 PM

    @hw007: If you knew the rules yourself you’d know that they are exempt.

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    Mute Frank
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    May 1st 2018, 2:01 PM

    i am not good with numbers but this means 87 divided by 3 shifts+holidays+training+sick days ets =22 approx on duty at any one time. Divide this by 26 counties and we will need an extra 16 to put one extra traffic gardai in each county. Then you consider that most time there are 2 gardai in each vechile it really changes the figure again, maybe the head of statistics in the gardai could clarify the numbers on duty each day in each county on a 243 hour basis. most fatatilities happen at night so maybe they need to consider extra traffic cops at night.

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    Mute brendan
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    May 1st 2018, 2:23 PM

    @Frank: my understanding from the article is that there are 87 “additional” garda going in to this area of traffic road policing, therefore joining gardai already on that duty….not 87 in total as per your mathematics?

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    Mute Ohhh_reeally
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    May 1st 2018, 4:36 PM

    @brendan: he did say he wasn’t good at numbers

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    Mute KevJ
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    May 1st 2018, 12:36 PM

    Not much use in slow cars, criminals can out run.

    18
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    Mute Maureen
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    May 1st 2018, 1:30 PM

    @KevJ: That’s true. The Hyundai’s they are driving are woeful with their sub standard brakes. I have talked to numerous Gardai who have said they will not do anymore high speed chases in them. Hyundai offered to upgrade the brakes at a cost of 400 every car but no more money was going to be spent.

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    May 1st 2018, 3:01 PM

    I’m having a bit of trouble reading that graphic . .what region is Stepaside in? surely such a crime ridden area as Shane Ross lives in needs about 60 new guards at least ,not to mention a new Garda station &perhaps a football stadium

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    Mute Joseph Dempsey
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    May 1st 2018, 1:01 PM
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    Mute Frank
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    May 1st 2018, 2:58 PM

    @brendan. My main point is the lack of funding for our Gardai. not enough prisons, not enough Gardai, not enough equipment, not enough interest in their wellbeing, too lenient prison sentences, not enough training, etc. our politicians line their own pockets like the bankers and the country is last on their list of priorities. it dosent seem to matter to them that people are living in fear.

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    Mute brendan
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    May 1st 2018, 10:02 PM

    @Frank: fair point frank..simple case of misunderstanding your initial post…i agree with all your points here.

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    Mute Smelly Chemist
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    May 1st 2018, 10:50 PM

    @Frank: It’s very expensive to put people in prison and it takes them out of work or college, which is bad for the economy. I would be much more in favour of making them work on weekends (if they’re not perverts or whatever). That way petty criminals like speeders could still have an income and see family in the evenings, and not cost the state for bed and board, but working every single day for a year could be their punishment.

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    Mute Harry Trafford
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    May 1st 2018, 3:09 PM

    Since when did the cars say “roads policing”?
    How come it doesn’t say Traffic cor any more?

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    Mute CarlAnne Greene
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    May 1st 2018, 2:20 PM

    Is there a ‘0’ missing?

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    Mute Stephen Devlin
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    May 1st 2018, 6:00 PM

    @CarlAnne Greene: it’s silent when it’s on the left

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    Mute Paul Maher
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    May 1st 2018, 3:05 PM

    Given they do early, late’s and nights and the amount of counties to police… not to mention retired or sick gardai to be covered……this is more of a PR embarrassment (as there’s not even enough to equate to one guard per county) than a puff piece.

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    Mute Zossima
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    May 1st 2018, 3:03 PM

    Ah phuck the Guards, hired goons. Tax collecting thugs

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    Mute P.J. Nolan
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    May 1st 2018, 3:13 PM

    @Zossima:
    No one is biting.

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    Mute Smelly Chemist
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    May 1st 2018, 10:42 PM

    I always drive at exactly the speed limit and people always overtake me. I would say less than half of drivers where I live obey the rules of the road. My impression is people don’t know how to drive on a motorway and think the overtaking lane has a higher speed limit than the rest of the motorway. Maybe there should be a driving lesson on the motorway for learners, as far as I remember it wasn’t covered apart from in the theory test.

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    Mute Michael Donovan
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    May 3rd 2018, 9:49 PM

    They need to start with (L) drivers first then (N) drivers its then they will clime the lader,,,not sitting behind garden walls unseen with radar guns.
    Then its the insurance i guess the revenue should police the tax dodgers coss its clear they need an educational starting point,,,coss the banks got away with murder.

    1
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