Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I definitely will not comment on that. I thank colleagues for the questions. Deputies Kenny, Ó Ríordáin, Smyth and Farrell raised the issue of Garda numbers and recruitment. Recruitment and the growth of numbers in An Garda Síochána is a top priority for the Government, the Department of Justice, and the Garda Commissioner. As recently as Friday, I met the Commissioner about this matter. We have regular engagement on it. He said clearly that he wishes to grow the number of sworn members of An Garda Síochána to above 15,000. That is also my objective and the objective of Government. Today, there are more than 14,000 members of An Garda Síochána. As of the end of December, which is the latest month I have figures for, there were 14,133 Garda members. There needs to be some context to commentary on Garda numbers because that is an increase of 10% since 2015. Ireland had 12,816 gardaí in 2015 and we now have more than 14,000. In addition to that, on the Acting Chair's point, in that period, we have seen a significant increase in Garda staff. We now have 3,126 Garda staff alongside those sworn members of An Garda Síochána. From memory, in response to the Acting Chair's question, there had been 880 transfers of duties from gardaí to instead being carried out by civilians as of the end of last year.

There are on average around 70 resignations from An Garda Síochána every year. Less than 1% of sworn members of the Garda resign, so there needs to be some context in relation to that. Having said that, I am clear that recent years have been very challenging for recruitment. We can debate the reasons and rationale behind that, and it is not without merit. However, it is also a statement of fact, as the figures show, that the closure of the Garda College during Covid had a significant impact on recruitment. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I was in Templemore recently at an attestation. I will be back there again later this month. The college is well back up and running now. A new class will be going in very shortly. There will be a further one in May, and another one pretty much every ten to 11 weeks throughout this year. The objective is to get 1,000 men and women through the gates of Templemore College this year to start seeing our Garda numbers grow again.

I take the comments of representative bodies very seriously. It would be a very foolish Minister, or anybody else, who does not listen to representative bodies and representatives of those on the front line. I am engaging with them and meeting with them later this month. I will be at their annual conferences. I want to hear what they have to say. I want to work collaboratively with them. The training allowance, raised by Deputy Kenny, is something to which I am giving active consideration.

However, I need to be clear to members of the public that today there are more than 14,133 members of the Garda. Recruitment is ramping back up. This will be a year of major recruitment, and the Government and Oireachtas have funded the Garda Commissioner and An Garda Síochána to recruit 1,000 new gardaí this year. That has to be a relentless focus.

I acknowledge and thank Deputy Kenny and others in this House for their support on legislation for bodycams. It is very important. I know there are debates and discussions for other Chambers and other days around facial recognition technology, FRT. On the issue of bodycams, however, I very much welcome the Deputy's support. It is a very important tool we can give to gardaí. I find it slightly ironic that the only people without a camera who are present at public protests are gardaí. That is illogical, ironic and, at times, dangerous to gardaí and the public on occasion. That is important legislation and, I hope, an important message we send to the members of An Garda Síochána and their families that we value the safety of gardaí on the front line.

I take the issue of recruitment and retention extremely seriously, but there is a need for some context in this. There was much comment yesterday about 25% of Garda stations seeing a reduction in Garda numbers. That means 75% saw Garda numbers either remain static or rise. There is some discussion about it, but 75% of Garda stations seeing an increase or the same number of gardaí is the inverse of 25% seeing a reduction. I am very conscious that, in those communities which have seen a decrease, this needs to be rectified as Garda numbers grow. There needs to be a fair and logical distribution. It is an operational matter for the Commissioner, but I know he appreciates that, to direct resources to both community policing and our specialist units, which are doing very important work in tackling gangland crime, sexual violence and many other areas.

On the issue of Garda vehicles, we saw a net gain of 72 Garda vehicles last year. There are lots of figures, but we are up by 72 in the number of Garda vehicles. Knowing the Acting Chair's active interest in the area, I will provide the committee with a note on his helicopter and aviation questions. I would be bluffing otherwise, so let me come back to the committee with a note on that.

To Deputy Ó Ríordáin, I know it must be frustrating when a Minister for Justice says something is an operational matter. While certain things are operational matters, I am happy to engage with him specifically on the needs and concerns of his constituents. I am happy to meet him on the issue of Garda stations and provision.