Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Garda recruitment is ramping up and we are confident that we will recruit 700 or 800 new gardaí this year. In the next few months, the total number of gardaí will again exceed 14,000 so total numbers will be rising again and will do so again next year. How gardaí as assigned to different parts of the country, as the Deputy knows, is a decision for the Garda Commissioner rather than for the Government. However, I meet the Garda Commissioner every six months or so and I will make sure that the Deputy's request is passed on to him directly.

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