Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the witness for attending. We very much value the work done by An Garda Síochána. The witnesses will appreciate that our work this morning is to ask questions about, and probe into, the use of public money. I ask them not to take our questions as a criticism. We must ensure we get the best possible value for the public money that is spent on the service.

The overall national budget for An Garda Síochána over the past number of years provided for the recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 gardaí in 2023, 2024 and 2025. As I see it, we did not achieve those numbers in any of those years. Will Commissioner Harris outline what the constraints are in terms of recruitment? Is it an issue with recruiting individuals or is it to do with training capacity? What are the difficulties in this regard? In terms of the money that was allocated, how was that money then utilised if we have not achieved the numbers of recruits set out in the budget? Will Mr. Harris indicate how many gardaí he expects to recruit this year?