Garda merger u-turn as three county division with HQ in Laois scrapped

The controversial merger of policing in Laois, Offaly with Kildare has been scrapped by Garda management.

Garda HQ has announced that the aim of joining the Laois and Offaly Divsion with Kildare is not proceeding. Instead, Laois Offaly will remain a standalone division while Kildare will not be merged with Carlow which splits from Kilkenny.

The Laois Offaly Kildare Division had been operating to some extent but was not fully formed. The three county division was being overseen by one Garda Chief Superintendent but other merged structures had yet to materialise.

However, plans have advanced for a three-county HQ that is earmarked for Portlaoise. A multi-million euro investment is planned. If it did proceed that the Laois Offaly Kildare Division would have been one of the biggest in Ireland and provided policing to a population of over 400,000 people.

Garda HQ outlined the reasons for the change and gave further detail on its impact. This did not include a statement on the plan for Portlaoise's Garda Station where preparatory work has commenced on its refurbishment and extension that was planned before the merger process. It's design was changed to factor in the three-county element.

It said the Garda Operating Model is being introduced under the Government’s policing reform programme, A Policing Service For Our Future, which is based on recommendations from the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

It said the implementation of the Garda Operating Model, which was launched in 2019, was severely impacted by the COVID pandemic.

The statement explained that under the Operating Model, Garda Divisions are headed by a Divisional Chief Superintendent, who oversee four newly defined functional areas: Business Services; Performance and Assurance; Crime; and Community Engagement. Each of these functional areas is led by a Superintendent, with the exception of Business Services, which is led by an Assistant Principal Officer.

"Following a review requested by the Garda Commissioner and conducted by an Assistant Commissioner, the Garda Senior Leadership Team has decided to re-configure the composition of certain three-county Divisions under the Garda Operating Model.

"The review included leadership interviews and consultation with internal and external stakeholders.

"It also took into account the population and demographic changes in the country since the development of the original Operating Model structure in 2018, as well as projected population and demographic trends in the coming years. It looked at the number of incidents in the relevant Divisions, along with their operational and community needs. Staffing and accommodation were also factored into the review," said a statment.

The three-county Divisions reviewed were:
- Laois/Offaly/Kildare
- Waterford/Kilkenny/Carlow
- Donegal/Sligo/Leitrim

Under the revised Divisional structures, the Divisions will be:

- Waterford/Kilkenny
- Kildare/Carlow
- Laois/Offaly
- Sligo/Leitrim
- Donegal

The statement issued from the Phoenix Park HQ also included a comment from a Garda spokesperson.

"The revised Divisional structures will most effectively deliver the benefits of the Operating Model by supporting a more balanced level of service demand across the Divisions. It will also increase the capacity of Divisional Management teams allowing for effective service provision, and greater oversight and governance.

"The next phase of the review will see a further feasibility and detailed impact assessment completed to determine the timeline for deployment of the revised Divisional structures.

"There will be no impact on our service to the public in the relevant Divisions during the transition to the revised Divisional Model.

"An Garda Síochána remains fully committed to delivering the Operating Model in a timely manner and realising its full benefits across the entire organisation which includes increased specialist services in areas such as domestic violence and sexual crime, and cyber-crime delivered at local level.

"We are continuing to work diligently towards achieving this goal,” said the spokersperson.

The statement continued that the Operating Model is already fully implemented in six Divisions: Limerick; Kerry; Cork City; Galway; DMR South Central and Mayo/Roscommon/Longford.

It added that implementation of the Operating Model in all other Divisions is progressing and is at various stages of completion.

Garda HQ added that the revisions to the plan, when implemented, will see the number of Garda Divisions go from 19 to 21. Before the introduction of the Garda Operating Model, there were 28 Garda Divisions. The Garda Operating Model has also seen the number of Garda Regions reduce from six to four.

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The Garda Senior Leadership Team is chaired by the Commissioner, and includes the Deputy Commissioners, Chief Administrative Officer, the Assistant Commissioners, the Executive Directors, Chief Medical Officer and the Director of Communications.