JUSTICE COMMITTEE:THE NUMBER of gardaí is expected to drop for the first time since 2002, according to figures presented to the Dáil committee on justice yesterday.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern presented the figures for the Garda since 2002, which have increased incrementally from 11,800 in that year to 14,547 last year.

While there were 14,600 gardaí in the force at the end of September 2010, officials in the Department of Justice expect that figure to drop to 14,400 by the end of the year.

Mr Ahern noted there had been 390 retirements from the force in 2010. About 800 gardaí took early retirement last year. The high numbers were partly due to fears that a once-off tax-free retirement gratuity would be taxed.

Fine Gael spokesman on justice Alan Shatter said Garda numbers needed to be maintained at least at the current level. This was of particular importance in the context of international drug gangs, gun warfare and the security risks posed by paramilitary activities. He called for Garda training to be restarted.

Mr Ahern, who has announced that he will not be running in the next general election, said it would be up to the government in future to decide the numbers of gardaí, noting that Fine Gael had called for an even greater reduction in public sector jobs than was contained in the four-year national plan. “Obviously that is a decision that has to be made – nurses, teachers, guards, civil servants, whatever – it’s not an easy job, I can assure you.”

The committee met to discuss the 2010 supplementary estimates for the public services on justice and reform, the Garda and the Courts Service, all of which were passed.