Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The problem in the community, as I and others are being told, is that the Garda capacity to investigate and detect crime, as well as Garda response times, are under much pressure because of the downward trend in headcount. The Minister has indicated that there are 550 recruits in or about to be in training, which is welcome. Will the Minister indicate where we will go after those 550 have been trained? She has rightly pointed out there are 12,772 gardaí, but we must bear in mind that 1,498 gardaí are today eligible for retirement. I know and accept that not all of those will go in one fell swoop. We can add to this the 500 gardaí who are out sick, on average, any day of the week, while another 230 are on incentivised career break. What is the Minister's projection for recruitment for the latter part of this year and into next year?

The Minister mentioned Garda stations. Many of the smaller stations that were not closed are supposed to be open, but they really only operate for an hour per day. Is the Minister aware of the case taken by a senior member of An Garda Síochána against the Public Appointments Service and the Attorney General, which I read about in the press? It relates to the interview process for the position of deputy commissioner.

See this speech in context