Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will get to Deputy Tóibín's question in a moment. I have to deal with one Deputy at a time here. Interest in joining the Garda is high and strong. We see that every time we run a Garda recruitment campaign. We will get 1,000 new gardaí into Templemore this year, which will be the largest intake in a long time. We will get to over 15,000 gardaí in the country. That is the shared view of myself, the Commissioner and the Government. I will listen very carefully to front-line gardaí and representative bodies on this. I will be meeting this month with both the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, and the Garda Representative Assocation, GRA.

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