Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We always said that there would be five classes last year. The first class was slightly earlier than this year's class. While the December class came out a few weeks earlier, that was to ensure that we had a presence. It was always going to be before the end of the year, though. There were always going to be the five intakes, and we had factored that in from the beginning of the year. Starting this year, because the first new intake will not be until April, it will not be physically possible to have five intakes. There will be four this year. Given how that feeds into the timelines, though, there is the potential for five classes again next year.

On the Garda Reserve, I was able to bring the new regulations to the Cabinet on Tuesday. They have been worked on for some time between my Department, the Garda and others. I anticipate that we will open up a new campaign in a matter of weeks. I want to see as many people joining as possible. I need to ensure that the structures in place for carrying out the competitions, which are also still conducting the competitions for the recent Garda recruitment campaign, have the capacity to do that, but it is my ambition that those competitions will open in a matter of weeks. The Garda Reserve does great work. It supplements and supports the work of the Garda and creates the visibility that the Deputy mentioned in our towns and elsewhere across the country.

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