Minister announces new gardaí to be assigned to Waterford 

Minister for Mental Health and Government Chief Whip Mary Butler has announced that eight new gardaí have been assigned to Waterford.

Six will be assigned to Waterford City while two will go to Dungarvan.

The new Waterford gardaí are part of the 194 recruits who passed out of the training college in Templemore on Friday.

Minister Butler said she is pleased to see the new recruits who are in addition to the five assigned to Waterford in August.

“As a Minister representing Waterford, I want to welcome our new recruits from Templemore to the Deise and wish them well as they start out in their Garda journey. 

"They should be very proud of their chosen career path. I’m sure they’ll enjoy working with the local people they encounter here in Waterford, who’ll embrace them into their communities.

“A safe and secure atmosphere in Waterford’s villages, towns and city is a huge priority of mine. 

"By strengthening the numbers of An Garda Síochána in Waterford in recent months, we are striving for safer communities and increased visibility across the county,” said Minister Butler.

Minister Butler went on to thank the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, who she said has “always been open to engagement on local policing matters”.

“The Minister’s priority is to get more Gardaí out onto our streets, preventing the commission of crime through high visibility patrols.

“Since his appointment as Justice Minister, we have seen a very strong emphasis placed on Garda recruitment and reflecting his mantra of increased visibility in communities nationwide. Under his stewardship, two successful Garda recruitment campaigns have been completed, attracting over 11,100 applications in total,” said Minister Butler.