KERRY gardaí are benefiting from an average of two weeks paid sick leave a year and over €1.4m in overtime.

That's according to new figures that have just been published by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate.

Gardaí in the Kerry division have the fifth highest level of sick leave of the country's 25 garda divisions according to statistics published by the Garda Inspectorate.

The Garda Inspectorate's Resource Allocation Report shows that the average officer in Kerry lost nine days through sick leave and two days through injury in 2007. This is compared to a national average of just six days sick leave across the rest of the state. Only Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and the Dublin's western division had higher rates.

There are currently 341 gardaí in the Kerry division, each working 227 shifts a year.

An individual garda is entitled to 104 rest days a year (weekends and weekly time off) and an additional 34 days annual leave. Going on an average pay rate of €44,477, the median salary rate for a rank and file garda of seven years experience, the cost of garda sick days in Kerry in 2007 was over €606,000.

The Inspectorate's report, commissioned to identify and remedy inefficiencies in the management of the Garda Síochána, also highlighted the level of garda overtime in Kerry.

The report shows that gardaí in Kerry racked up 45,633 hours of overtime in 2007. While the majority of this, 19 per cent, was linked to criminal investigations, court attendance accounted for 18.5 per cent or 8,442 working hours.

Given that the standard overtime rate for gardaí is €31.44 an hour the 2007 Kerry Divisional overtime bill works out as €1,434,701. That's equivalent to €4,207 in extra pay per year for every garda stationed in the county.

Though overtime is a considerable issue the report shows garda staffing levels in Kerry have improved markedly in recent years. In 1999 there were 242 gardaí in the county and by 2009 this had risen to 341.

In 2007 these gardaí dealt with 20,000 incidents that were recorded on the Pulse computer system.

The Garda Síochána Inspectorate is an independent statutory body established under Part 5 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

The role of the Inspectorate, according to its own website, is to promote excellence and accountability in the Garda Síochána by ensuring that the resources available to the Garda Síochána are used to achieve and maintain the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness in its operation and administration as measured by reference to best international policing practices.

- SIMON BROUDER sbrouder@kerryman.ie