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

This year, I have provided a budget allocation of over €2.35 billion to An Garda Síochána. This is a 25% increase on 2020 and will allow for the sustained recruitment of Garda recruits in 2024. I have taken a number of measures to support increased recruitment into An Garda Síochána. This includes a 66% increase in the training allowance and increasing the age of entry from 35 to 50. The Government has also agreed to increase the mandatory retirement age for Garda members from 60 to 62. I will be bringing forward legislation on that very shortly. Recruitment is now gathering real momentum and the number of recruits in the Garda training college continue to increase. A total of 746 trainees entered the college in 2023. That was the highest intake in any year since 2018.

There are currently three classes in training in the Garda College, two having entered in 2023 and one earlier this month. These trainees are expected to attest in June, September and December. Based on the current numbers, indications are that between 600 and 700 new gardaí will attest this year. That is based on the figures from last year.

As the Deputy knows, the Garda College was closed to new recruits during Covid and it is only since the pandemic restrictions were lifted that recruitment has fully resumed. While Templemore did not fully close during the pandemic, and we are very grateful to the members and trainees there who persisted with their training, recruitment of new members into the organisation was curtailed. A total of 185 new recruits entered the college earlier this month, the first class of 2024. This represents the highest intake since Covid. Three further intakes are planned for July, September and December of this year. Based on the number of applicants and the numbers targeted for the coming intakes, it is envisaged that attestations will increase to between 800 and 1,000 in 2025. It is anticipated that the number of Garda members will begin to grow steadily throughout 2024. I expect the number of Garda members to grow during 2024 until we can reach the target of 15,000 and then move beyond.

The Government has agreed to take all necessary steps to support recruitment into An Garda Síochána. To that end, my Department is working with Garda management and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in relation to further measures to address the issues of recruitment and retention. We are continuing to work on mitigating various resourcing challenges, including but not limited to actions such as the establishment of the Garda training steering group.

Insofar as recruit training is concerned, there are no immediate plans to change the current programme. Templemore is linked closely with the University of Limerick in compliance with the Education and Training Act and both institutions operate institutional-level quality assurance systems. However, as I have said previously, nothing is off the table in terms of potential future changes.

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