Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the increased budget allocation. I accept that there has been an increase from 2015 to 2020. I know the Covid pandemic has been used for a number of reasons, some genuine and some perhaps not so. There seems to be an overemphasis on recruitment. As we both know, retention is the second side of that coin. Instead of just focusing on recruitment figures, we should probably look at what the net overall strength would be. I take the Minister’s point, which I welcome, that the overall goal is to reach at least 15,000. I am not sure if there is a timeline associated. The current strength is about 14,030 and that number fluctuates on a weekly basis. Does the Government have an indicative figure for the overall strength it would like An Garda Síochána to reach at the end of this year? Does it have a ballpark figure and, if not, is it something it might consider publishing?

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