Written answers
Thursday, 25 April 2024
Department of Justice and Equality
An Garda Síochána
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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241. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons that were successful at stages 1 and 2 of the Garda trainee application process in the past 20 years; the totality of applicants in the past 20 years to the Garda trainee recruitment programmes; the number of persons that took part in stage 1 of the process over that time period; and the number that took part in stage 2 of that same time period, in tabular form. [18659/24]
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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252. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons that were successful at stages 1 and 2 of the Garda trainee application process that were deemed to be generally unsuitable to be offered a place in phase 1 of Garda training in the past 20 years. [18629/24]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 252 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including for the recruitment and training of Garda members and staff. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.
I am committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have the resources they need to deliver on their mission of 'Keep People Safe'. This is reflected in the unprecedented allocation of over €2.35 billion in Budget 2024 which is allowing for sustained investment in recruitment, equipment and technology. This includes increasing the training allowance by 66% to €305 per week to further support recruitment.
I have sought the information requested by the Deputy from the Garda authorities and have been informed that compiling this information would be a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources due to the timeframe of 20 years included in the Deputy's question.
The Deputy will be interested to know that 746 trainee Gardaí entered Templemore in 2023, the highest number to enter Templemore since 2018. 388 new Gardaí attested in 2023 and were allocated to Garda stations nationwide.
There are currently around 14,000 Garda members across the country and it is anticipated that the number of Garda members will begin to grow steadily throughout 2024.
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