Ms Siobhán Toale:

As the Deputy knows, we have been under significant pressure with the Garda trainees to get our intakes up and release capacity into the organisation. We have, therefore, prioritised Garda trainees, potentially at the expense of the Garda Reserve. We have a Garda Reserve pilot under way now. There are 20 people engaged in a programme with the Garda College. We hope to bring in at least one more intake before Christmas, maybe of 70 or 80 people. We will then establish a routine and a rhythm. We are considering some of the innovations and improvements we were able to bring to the Garda training programme to the Garda Reserve programme, so we are now on this path and it is a very important focus for us. We are committed to the numbers in the programme for Government and to have approximately 2,000 members of the Garda Reserve. As the Commissioner said, we see them as a very valuable part of our entire ecosystem and community.