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

The issue to date has not been space. The classes have been incrementally moving upwards and the most recent class of 186 is the highest we have had, so it is not the case that we do not have enough space in Templemore. In the last year or two, it has actually been about gathering the momentum so we can get to the point where we are nearly reaching the figure of 200 and beyond. That is not to say we are not looking at other options, and that could potentially include training on another site, different types of hybrid training and different elements of the course being done elsewhere. Given the fact we work with the University of Limerick and this is an institutional level quality assurance system, it is important that we do not dilute or change that in any way, shape or form. This is what the Garda training steering group is looking at with regard to whether there are other options that we have not been using to increase the overall number.

To date, it has not been the lack of space that has curtailed us. It has been getting us to the point where those high numbers are starting to come through the PAS process. It is a question of passing all of the different stages and the fitness tests in the higher numbers that we have had to date. However, we still need to look at potentially expanding our scope, which is what we are doing now.

See this speech in context