Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín has received information which shows further dysfunction within An Gardaí Suichána and the immigration process. An Teachta Tóibín has stated:
I have received information today which suggests that internal recruitment for the Garda Immigration Officers and also Detective Gardaí for the same unit has ground to a halt. These roles were advertised well over a year and a half ago, yet there is no movement to progress the recruitment and get Gardaí on the front line. This highlights the government’s complete lack of effort or willingness to tackle the immigration chaos in the system. Clear investment and resourcing is needed in this area and the Justice Minster clearly does not see this as a priority.
From the start of the recruitment process, it took until August this year, one year on before interviews took place. Subsequently 2 panels were formed. To date I am told, no Garda members have been assigned to the Immigration section from these panels. Remember it was an Aontú parliamentary question that found out that there are only 98 Gardaí working in the Garda National Immigration Bureau and that this number is falling. It is no wonder that the government can only confirm that 6% of all deportation orders have been actioned. This is either an issue of incompetency or wilful neglect by the Minister for Justice. It is just one of the many ingredients to the chaos that is leading to frustration throughout the state.
