Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If I stray on to the wrong subhead, I hope the Chairman will tell me. The Minister mentioned retiring gardaí. In view of the fact that the Garda can only recruit to the maximum capacity of Templemore, which is 600 per annum - I acknowledge the Minister's remark that it is impossible to predict how many gardaí may retire in any year - would she consider offering short extensions of service to gardaí, given the significant problems in places such as County Louth, where a garda was murdered recently and where in two years we have lost two gardaí? Would that be a way of having greater numbers of gardaí, if they were to agree voluntarily to an extension for a year or two years as an exceptional measure?