Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It absolutely is. A career in An Garda Síochána has the potential to be a very fulfilling life experience. However, the difficulty is not people applying to join An Garda Síochána but, with due respect to the Minister, it is the intake capacity and the experience of some people who apply but who do not make it into Templemore - in other words, they have a negative experience which they convey to others that would in time prevent them from following suit. Some 750 recruits left Templemore in 2023. Last year, 2024, the number was 631. The strength of the force at the end of 2024 was just about 14,000 which is only 200 more than at the start of the year and 500 less than when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael formally came into government in 2020.

I note that in recent weeks the Commissioner said that it will not be possible to meet the Government goal of 1,000 new members this year and it is likely to be as low as 800. The Minister is on record as saying that he wants to see an additional 5,000 gardaí by the end of this Dáil term. It is incumbent on him to say, given the current parameters, how the hell he is going to make that happen.

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