Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In his absence, I wish the Minister for Justice well in his role. The issue I wished to raise with the Minister concerns gardaí seeking transfers, particularly the case of a young garda based in Dublin city from my neck of the woods, Abbeyknockmoy, just outside Tuam, She is a married woman with a mortgage on a new property she and her husband built in the last few years. They are blessed with a young child of a couple of months and the plan is for her to return to work. She has been pleading since 2021 for a transfer from Dublin back home to the west or as near it as possible. Within an hour's commute of her home with be great. The round trip from her home currently is 370 km per day. That is a big challenge. Having to find accommodation in Dublin while paying a mortgage in east Galway is not the most desirable situation.

We must not lose the experience we have in the force. Retention is an issue and we need to focus on retaining the experience of dedicated members and to look sympathetically on cases such as that young garda. She loves her job and the testimonials from her colleagues in Dublin about her experience and value to the force are very positive. I wish the system would look more favourably on her situation and afford her an opportunity to build her future in the Garda, commuting daily while still being able to care for her personal and professional business at home in east Galway.

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