New 170 Garda cars to be bought

POGAN

Good news with this amount will need same amount next year

THE Government has moved to ease fears of a resource crisis in An Garda Siochana in the wake of station closures by ordering 170 vehicles for the force.
Justice Minister Alan Shatter has revealed that €3m will be spent on upgrading the fleet with new patrol cars, unmarked cars and vans to be on the road in December and January.
"This is a substantial investment in Garda transport, particularly at a time of severe budgetary constraints," he said.
"In this context, I am conscious of the need to support An Garda Siochana, to the greatest extent possible, in the vital work that they do and I am certain that the delivery and commissioning of 170 new vehicles will enhance the capacity of An Garda Siochana to provide an effective and efficient policing service to communities throughout the country."
Serious concerns have been raised by the Garda Representative Authority (GRA) over officers' ability to police following 39 station closures this year and more threatened for next year and possibly 2014.
The organisation, which represents 11,000 officers, said they were being further hampered in their jobs by a lack of patrol cars.
Fears were highlighted in one instance in Donegal when a woman whose house had been burgled collected a garda from a local station after reporting the crime because he did not have a patrol car to call out.
All the new motors will be supplied by Ford Ireland with the majority patrol vehicles but also a limited number of unmarked cars and vans included in the order.
Garda management will decide allocation of the vehicles.
The Department of Justice said that so far this year 42 new vehicles have been commissioned bringing to 212 the total number added to the force in 2012.
- Ed Carty

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/government-orders-fleet-of-170-garda-vehicles-in-wake-of-station-closures-3259484.html

Random

yipee.. they might be able to come help when i call them now

road_high

New Mondeos I presume. Nice coo for Ford.

kub

mfitzy wrote: »

New Mondeos I presume. Nice coo for Ford.

Its the servicing of these is where Ford will make their money, I would not at all be surprised if they were sold at a pure cost price.

There certainly won't be many Ghia models there anyway, thats one thing for sure, the extras will be as per what one gets with a Woodies standard wheelbarrow. Also I hope traffic won't mind a few fab 1.2 litre Mondeos .

donvito99

Perhaps also that Connect van from the Gallery thread?

kub

donvito99 wrote: »

Perhaps also that Connect van from the Gallery thread?

The 'new patrol vehicle'.

POGAN

I'd say more focus estates for the regular and mondeo estates for traffic.

It works 17,600 per vechice very cheap

sheehan12

mfitzy wrote: »

New Mondeos I presume. Nice coo for Ford.

toyota i think

kub

sheehan12 wrote: »

toyota i think

Since how long have Ford Ireland been supplying Toyotas?

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/government-orders-fleet-of-170-garda-vehicles-in-wake-of-station-closures-3259484.html

sheehan12

kub wrote: »

Since how long have Ford Ireland been supplying Toyotas? ...... down in cork and kerry i see some new toyota avensis garda car ok just read the link so it must be ford then:o

kub

sheehan12 wrote: »

kub wrote: »

Since how long have Ford Ireland been supplying Toyotas? ...... down in cork and kerry i see some new toyota avensis garda car ok just read the link so it must be ford then:o

Toyota won the last supply contract back in early 2011,I think.

POGAN

New tender was signed this year with ford

POGAN

POGAN wrote: »

I'd say more focus estates for the regular and mondeo estates for traffic.

It works 17,600 per vechice very cheap

Would it work out less than that? Does the money spent also include livery, lightbars, etc. or is that an added cost?


EDIT: I also hope they start splashin' out this year and put, oh, I don't know, perhaps, say... cages in the cars?! (Just so, you know, you can't kick the shite out of the Garda that's driving you to the station.

goldie fish

I'd say a focus saloon would be a more practical patrol car than the current Mondeo. Too Big, too luxurious.

kub

Deleted User wrote: »

EDIT: I also hope they start splashin' out this year and put, oh, I don't know, perhaps, say... cages in the cars?! (Just so, you know, you can't kick the shite out of the Garda that's driving you to the station.

Splashin' out with what? when the country was flush with money they did not even do that.
They will probably be told to be glad that they are not walking the arrested scum bag to the station.

Peregrine

goldie fish wrote: »

I'd say a focus saloon would be a more practical patrol car than the current Mondeo. Too Big, too luxurious.

True but it could be either
Actually, the article only said Ford right? Do we know which model?

POGAN

KKV wrote: »

Would it work out less than that? Does the money spent also include livery, lightbars, etc. or is that an added cost?


EDIT: I also hope they start splashin' out this year and put, oh, I don't know, perhaps, say... cages in the cars?! (Just so, you know, you can't kick the shite out of the Garda that's driving you to the station.

That how much it will cost fully kitted averaged out, as some will be for the regular but if traffic corp car would need anpr and batteburgs so would be different cost to that

kub

Nimrod 7 wrote: »

True but it could be either
Actually, the article only said Ford right? Do we know which model?

Just all various models, cars, both marked and unmarked and vans.

Markcheese

Any chance they're gonna be fitted with handsfree kits for mobile phones...

Locust

any chance of fm radio for some choons? (jokes!) I much prefer the Fords to the Toyota's - for handling and all round better car

Hooch

I know we're always negative.....but seriously.....170 cars???





DROP......IN.......THE......OCEAN

kub

Hooch wrote: »

I know we're always negative.....but seriously.....170 cars???





DROP......IN.......THE......OCEAN

That crossed my mind too. So that must equate to a new patrol car for every district, with last years Toyota's becoming hand me downs to the local stations.

Can anyone remember how many Avensis were purchased last year? Then how many cars have been teken from the fleet since, I do not think 170 is that many now.

kub

Markcheese wrote: »

Any chance they're gonna be fitted with handsfree kits for mobile phones...

Locust wrote: »

any chance of fm radio for some choons? (jokes!) I much prefer the Fords to the Toyota's - for handling and all round better car

Lads ye will be lucky if they have electric windows and decent engines, neverlone anything else.

Mister Jingles

Silver or White is the big Q ?

kub

Mister Jingles wrote: »

Silver or White is the big Q ?

How to we start a poll?

My money is on white, i reckon Toyota ran out of white cars last time around and could not get enough white ones produced.

Peregrine

kub wrote: »

How to we start a poll?

My money is on white, i reckon Toyota ran out of white cars last time around and could not get enough white ones produced.

I heard that aswell
They had to wait longer for white cars last time so they went with silver. But there was some discussion about making silver the standard colour for Garda cars once they got the silver Toyotas

belacqua_

The PSNI got a batch of new Mondeo estates recently (they're white, they seem to have phased out the silver). I've often wondered if AGS and the PSNI have ever considered a joint order, it would surely work out cheaper. Perhaps Mr. Shatter and Mr. Ford can have a chat with ... Mr. Ford.

Hogzy

belacqua_ wrote: »

The PSNI got a batch of new Mondeo estates recently (they're white, they seem to have phased out the silver). I've often wondered if AGS and the PSNI have ever considered a joint order, it would surely work out cheaper. Perhaps Mr. Shatter and Mr. Ford can have a chat with ... Mr. Ford.

lol hell no! It would be far too complicated to have two police forces from two different countries using two different currencies to make a purchase together.

Hogzy

Hogzy wrote: »

lol hell no! It would be far too complicated to have two police forces from two different countries using two different currencies to make a purchase together.

Why?

POGAN

Hooch wrote: »

I know we're always negative.....but seriously.....170 cars???







DROP......IN.......THE......OCEAN

Yes it is a drop in the ocean, there was 150 Toyota on the first order then 42 of them start of the year, but when consider by the end of the year over 300 cars will be out of service plus last 200 before the Toyota order that about 500 less cars than 2007.

Hooch I know your upset you have no BMWs in the order, so if I win the lotto il sponsor you one

Hooch

Agh don't forget lads, the toyotas were 11 reg. vast majority as they stand have 200,000km on they. Might be lucky to get a year out of some city cars.

Unfortunatly it will become one big vicious circle!

POGAN

Hooch wrote: »

Agh don't forget lads, the toyotas were 11 reg. vast majority as they stand have 200,000km on they. Might be lucky to get a year out of some city cars.

Unfortunatly it will become one big vicious circle!

So true

BaronVon

POGAN wrote: »

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has revealed that €3m will be spent on upgrading the fleet with new patrol cars, unmarked cars and vans to be on the road in December and January.
"This is a substantial investment in Garda transport, particularly at a time of severe budgetary constraints," he said.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/government-orders-fleet-of-170-garda-vehicles-in-wake-of-station-closures-3259484.html

Shatter the hero. Re-allocating a €3m transport budget he took away 2 years ago.

Creative accounting.....

eirman

Does anyone know if many of the new vehicles will fitted with ANPR equipment.

POGAN

eirman wrote: »

Does anyone know if many of the new vehicles will fitted with ANPR equipment.

we will go down to operational need for this

So can I ask, does anyone actually know how many operational vehicles AGS actually have?

I can only really speak about the Drogheda station as it's the only one I'd be in or around, and I can only speak about it as a regular joe soap (as I'm not involved with the Gardaí as anything other than, well, a friendly pest :P ) but they seem to be fairly well equipped.

I'm not sure how many of their cars are on the way out, but they all seem to be in relatively good condition (appearance-wise, anyway) and they seem to have enough cars that they can cover a lot at once (ie; if they're escorted a bicycle race or in the parade or whatever, there still seems to be plenty of cars left that Joe Soap wouldn't have to worry or a shortage in an emergency).


Off the top of my head, Drogheda has two Ford Mondeos, a Ford Fiesta, Toyota Avensis, two Ford Transits (one with 'cell' for prisoners, the other is a bus-style one that looks like it's seen better days), a Ford Galaxy, Isuzu D-Max, and, I'd guess, around 5 unmarked cars. They've also got motorbikes (unsure of quantity, but I think I seen three a few times?) and the RSU make random appearances around the town.

The only thing I've noticed/found out, though, is that they seem to get new cars to replace the fleet, rather than add to the fleet (ie; they have a nice Toyota jeep, the model of which escapes me, and when they got the Isuzu D-Max, it was to replace the Toyota).

I'd like to see the station get one of them newfangled carvancell thingies, as they'd be a good addition to the station, I'd imagine, but I'd hate to think of them losing a car to get it (unless it was to replace the Transit bus, as I don't know what purpose that serves, and although it's always in a different place in the car park, I've never seen it driving around on the roads before).



Would the average Garda station be as well-equipped as Drogheda is (or at least seems to be), or would most other stations be better/worse off?

Mr Jinx

Deleted User wrote: »

So can I ask, does anyone actually know how many operational vehicles AGS actually have?

I can only really speak about the Drogheda station as it's the only one I'd be in or around, and I can only speak about it as a regular joe soap (as I'm not involved with the Gardaí as anything other than, well, a friendly pest :P ) but they seem to be fairly well equipped.

I'm not sure how many of their cars are on the way out, but they all seem to be in relatively good condition (appearance-wise, anyway) and they seem to have enough cars that they can cover a lot at once (ie; if they're escorted a bicycle race or in the parade or whatever, there still seems to be plenty of cars left that Joe Soap wouldn't have to worry or a shortage in an emergency).



Off the top of my head, Drogheda has two Ford Mondeos, a Ford Fiesta, Toyota Avensis, two Ford Transits (one with 'cell' for prisoners, the other is a bus-style one that looks like it's seen better days), a Ford Galaxy, Isuzu D-Max, and, I'd guess, around 5 unmarked cars. They've also got motorbikes (unsure of quantity, but I think I seen three a few times?) and the RSU make random appearances around the town.

The only thing I've noticed/found out, though, is that they seem to get new cars to replace the fleet, rather than add to the fleet (ie; they have a nice Toyota jeep, the model of which escapes me, and when they got the Isuzu D-Max, it was to replace the Toyota).

I'd like to see the station get one of them newfangled carvancell thingies, as they'd be a good addition to the station, I'd imagine, but I'd hate to think of them losing a car to get it (unless it was to replace the Transit bus, as I don't know what purpose that serves, and although it's always in a different place in the car park, I've never seen it driving around on the roads before).



Would the average Garda station be as well-equipped as Drogheda is (or at least seems to be), or would most other stations be better/worse off?

Drogheda is the Divisional HQ for Co Louth so it would have alot of units based there, Regular units, detective unit, drugs unit, scenes of crime, traffic etc so it would have alot more vehicles than an average station.

kub

eirman wrote: »

Does anyone know if many of the new vehicles will fitted with ANPR equipment.

Surely they will recycle the ANPR equipment from cars been taken off the fleet.

guttenberg

belacqua_ wrote: »

The PSNI got a batch of new Mondeo estates recently (they're white, they seem to have phased out the silver). I've often wondered if AGS and the PSNI have ever considered a joint order, it would surely work out cheaper. Perhaps Mr. Shatter and Mr. Ford can have a chat with ... Mr. Ford.

There was talk of the PSNI fleet procurement being merged with all the police forces in Britain but don't think anything came of it? plus PSNI vehicles are mainly armoured, and well. . . big landrovers! Their requirements wouldn't match anything the Garda would be after. Hopefully this means my folks village gets a squad car back! It may of been a rusted mondeo, but it was better than nothing!

audidiesel

if the funding was kept in place to do the same again next year and the year after id be a lot happier. as it is this is purely optics. sticking a band aid over a gaping wound.

they have taken in and around 560 cars out of service since 2007. its a welcome step in the right direction but its also unlikely they will keep it up.

the new connect vans look the part now though and they can go up to a higher milage. strictly a two seater job in the front though, plus id hate to be a prisoner in the back. its pretty cramped back there.

the toyotas were a disgrace. they are far too soft for garda work. be glad to be getting back to fords again.

audidiesel

audidiesel wrote: »

hate to be a prisoner in the back. its pretty cramped back there.

Aww, god help them.

Are they kitted out for one prisoner, or two?

I was looking at the inside of Drogheda's large transit and was surprised to see it had a 'maximum occupancy' of two.





Maybe I'm alone, but could you not easily install the same set of cells again on the empty space inside the side door of the van (thus doubling the prisoner capacity)?

Looking at that layout, it seems like you'll only get one prisoner in the back of the new vans (though you could realistically put two if you wanted)?

Mr Simpson

I think it was discussed a while ago. Afaik, if they were to install another cage or more seats, it would mean either the vans would be exceeding their legal weight or the member would need a C licence to drive it. It was one or other of those reasons, I can't remember which.

mmcn90

mmcn90 wrote: »

I think it was discussed a while ago. Afaik, if they were to install another cage or more seats, it would mean either the vans would be exceeding their legal weight or the member would need a C licence to drive it. It was one or other of those reasons, I can't remember which.

Ah, I hadn't thought of that, at all.

Could they not get Mercedes Sprinters done by wilker (ambulances, essentially) with cages inside? I know they're a big piece of equipment and need a specific license, but surely there could be some additional training given that would cover it (though considering the cost involved it'd be a pipe dream even if they did want to do it).

I suppose, with those kind of factors also involved, then the new vans are probably a best-of-both-worlds situation (though surely fitting a cage to a Mondeo would've been cheaper than custom-built connects?).

Mr Simpson

I'd say the connects are actually the cheapest option. They're bog standard vans with a bit of steel in the back.

The Met TSG use wilker type vans, I don't know how suitable they would be day to day.

How often would they need capacity for more than one prisoner?

audidiesel

the connects have seating inside the cage for two. but if theres two normal sized prisoners youd be fairly wedging them in there.

Hooch

mmcn90 wrote: »

I think it was discussed a while ago. Afaik, if they were to install another cage or more seats, it would mean either the vans would be exceeding their legal weight or the member would need a C licence to drive it. It was one or other of those reasons, I can't remember which.

Not as such.....they bought bog standard Transits from Ford.....retro fitted them with seats and cage and thereby exceeded its design gross weight when laden. Ford wouldn't stand over them and seats had to be removed. Those vans were once D1 license to drive but are now just a B license.

They could have bought the Transits with properly rated chassis etc....but cost cutting kicked in. Cost cutting in this game NEVER works.

Mr Simpson

Thank you, I knew there was some reason.

kravmaga

Deleted User wrote: »

Would it work out less than that? Does the money spent also include livery, lightbars, etc. or is that an added cost?


EDIT: I also hope they start splashin' out this year and put, oh, I don't know, perhaps, say... cages in the cars?! (Just so, you know, you can't kick the shite out of the Garda that's driving you to the station.

All prisoners are supposed to be transported in the Ford Transit caged vans.

Officer health and safety.

Theanswers

I was driving in Donegal recently and came upon a checkpoint.

The guard was driving; wait for it....

A 2001 ford Fiesta (old Model). I had to look twice as I could not believe my eyes. If one wanted a more un-sutaible car one could not find it.

Anyways I think guards in the country should have landcruisers at least.Not Range Rovers or Discoverys like the north. In Dublin they have them, but not in the country where they might be needed. Stupidity.

kub

Theanswers wrote: »

I was driving in Donegal recently and came upon a checkpoint.

The guard was driving; wait for it....

A 2001 ford Fiesta (old Model). I had to look twice as I could not believe my eyes. If one wanted a more un-sutaible car one could not find it.

Anyways I think guards in the country should have landcruisers at least.Not Range Rovers or Discoverys like the north. In Dublin they have them, but not in the country where they might be needed. Stupidity.

Range Rovers and Discoverys are essential in Dublin, did you not know that in the constitution, Gardai have to patrol various areas in Dublin in vehicles which have to be acceptable to people of a certain social standing.

goldie fish

kub wrote: »

Range Rovers and Discoverys are essential in Dublin, did you not know that in the constitution, Gardai have to patrol various areas in Dublin in vehicles which have to be acceptable to people of a certain social standing.

That's why all the transits are being bought....