Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is also a huge issue with retention and the major loss when members of An Garda Síochána decide they need to leave the force. I sincerely hope that we are doing exit interviews and that we take the information as feedback and do something with it. All of their knowledge, training and expertise goes with them and it takes years to gain that experience as a new recruit.

I will address an issue that is pertinent to our difficulties with recruitment. I received hundreds of items of correspondence from retired members of An Garda Síochána inquiring about pension parity and whether that will be maintained in the up and coming pay talks. Pension parity means that as the salaries of serving members increase, the pensions of retired gardaí also increase in line with that. That is primary to how we treat gardaí. If they are in a position where their pension will be reduced or not kept on par to deal with cost-of-living increases, it will be a deterrent to new recruits. I hope the Minister is in a position to give a commitment that there will be pension parity.

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