Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In recent years there has been a substantial increase in resources for recruitment of gardaí. That will continue. I accept that there are challenges, particularly in the context of antisocial behaviour and in rural Ireland. We want to strengthen and support An Garda Síochána. Funding for 1,000 gardaí to be recruited next year was provided in the budget. I am informed by the Garda authorities that, at the end of August of this year, there were 14,283 Garda members, supported by more than 3,117 Garda staff. That is an increase of about 12% since 2015, when we had 12,816 Garda members throughout the country, so there has been a significant increase since 2015. The budget this year is €2.14 billion. We have to get the recruitment campaign going. About 11,000 people applied to join the service in 2022.

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