Retirement rush by Clare gardaí

TWENTY-ONE gardaí in the Clare Garda Division have applied for retirement and could be gone by December 31. In confirming this, Clare Garda Chief Superintendent John Kerin said the figure represents approximately 15% of the entire force in Clare.

The impact such a significant number of retirements in a short time would have on policing arrangements in Clare, must be worrying in the context of the huge level of experience and local knowledge that would be lost in one fell swoop.
Killaloe Garda Superintendent Tony Kennelly is among those to have already retired recently. Seven Clare-based gardaí are to retire over the next 10 days, while five gardaí from the Kilrush Garda Division have applied for retirement.
“There are seven due to retire within the next 10 days. I don’t think there’s any turning for them. There’s about five from Kilrush who have applied to retire. I hope they don’t because it’s even more difficult for us to get people out to the rural areas,” Chief Superintendent Kerin stated.
He says that he will not be certain of how many more members of the force will go, until December 31.
“I know that last year, nationally, there were about 900 guards who submitted their applications to retire by the end of December but only about 250 took it up. The applications can be quite misleading,” he said.
The garda chief said the upcoming budget will help many of the potential retirees to make up their minds.
“I know of a number of people who won’t retire unless the budget is really going to impact upon their gratuity and their pension,” he said. 
“We sincerely hope those people don’t retire because a lot of them still have very valuable contributions to make to the community and to policing. I suppose they’ve got to safeguard themselves and look after their own options as well,” he added.
Chief Superintendent Kerin acknowledged the potential loss of 21 gardaí will present a challenge to the force in the county.
“From a management perspective, I don’t want to lose any of them and certainly the community won’t be a better place if they all go.”
He pointed out that experienced gardaí often help young gardaí to settle in.
“It’s the very positive influence they would have on young guards, who actually need those senior guards to coach, mentor and guide them. There isn’t a sergeant on every tour of duty and if there’s a senior guard there, he’s a great mentor and advisor to the younger ones, who are going to make mistakes with the best will in the world,” he noted.