James Morrisroe, who is the GRA representative for the Cavan/Monaghan district has raised his concerns in relation to recruitment and retention issues facing An Garda Síochána.
Yesterday, Minister for Justice Simon Harris backed a maximum sentencing for people who assault emergency workers amid safety concerns from members of the force.
According to Garda Morrisroe, attacks on Gardaí is just one factor in a list of reasons as to why members are choosing to resign at an "unprecedented" rate.
He added that working morale and little support from senior Gardaí management are also among the reasons why he thinks the number of Gardaí across the country will soon fall below the 14,000 mark. Garda Morrisroe also pointed out that last week, only 135 trainees entered the Garda College, as opposed to the usual recruitment mark of 200 every 12 weeks.
Garda Morrisroe continued; "We had 109 resignations last year which is absolutely unprecedented. If it keeps going this way regardless of retirements, resignations alone will bring us down below the 14,000 mark - we're at 14,100 at the moment and we’re steeply going down hill on that."
