Mr. Drew Harris:

The difficulty we had in that period is precisely that of Covid. We had to, in effect, close our college, which stalled any recruitment efforts, and at the same time cessations continue. We are also in a situation where 30 years ago there was a recruitment surge. That means people are coming up to retirement age and that is why retirement numbers are higher.

Beyond that is the issue of resignations and people leaving An Garda Síochána. We always had resignations but, last year, we had approximately 160. That was a high number for us but, for an organisation of the scale of some 13,900 gardaí, that is not a big number when compared with other police services or, indeed, other Government bodies. We have a pretty static and stable workforce. What we want to make sure is that people stay in the organisation and we remain an attractive employer.