Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Brabazon. I am limited in what I can do in respect of trying to change the pension schemes that operate for certain public sector workers. I have listened to the GRA in respect of it. I know it is not as attractive a scheme as the previous one was. It may be having an impact on recruitment but what I think is probably having more of an impact is the competitive nature of the economy and the fact there are more jobs available. It is hard to attract people in. In terms of resignations, however, I do not think people are leaving the force because of it. The GRA may disagree with me but if we look at the numbers when it comes to resignations from the force, 136 members, or 1% of the force, resigned in 2024. If we look around the world - we could take the PSNI as an example - we will see that there are generally much higher percentage levels of resignation from a force than 1%. I hope it is not having an impact. I would like to make terms and conditions as favourable as possible to ensure we get more gardaí.