Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not concede that at all, because we are seeing Garda numbers grow through Templemore. This will be the first year since the Covid pandemic that we will see Garda numbers increase. We will see more new Garda members than gardaí leaving the force. We saw more than 90 trainees enter Templemore in November and more than 130 enter Templemore earlier this year. We saw more than 155 trainees enter Templemore this week and 53 others say they would like a place this year, but they would like to go in later in the year. When one takes that in the round, it is more than 400 new trainee gardaí. We will keep working on those numbers and I assure the Deputy the Taoiseach is absolutely committed to driving this agenda.

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