JUST UNDER HALF of people have confidence in the gardaí to protect and serve their community.

In a Claire Byrne Live poll by Ámarach Research, 43% of people said they did have confidence in members of An Garda Síochána.

Four in 10 (40%) people surveyed said they did not and 17% didn’t know.

There has been added scrutiny on gardaí in recent times after it emerged that almost one million bogus breath tests were recorded.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors yesterday, AGSI general secretary John Jacob said there is a sense that “people are looking at us and they’re blaming us for the current problems that are in An Garda Síochána”.

He said he did not believe the blame would rest with sergeants and inspectors, instead it is likely to fall on processes and training.

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“Our members are concerned, and that’s understandable because there is a fear that the finger will be pointed at them and as our president has already said, the finger of blame is pointing downwards without having the evidence and that can’t be correct.”

With reporting by Michelle Hennessy

We’ll have more from the conference in Killarney over the next two days. Follow @michellehtweet for updates.