Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am conscious of the intake capacity into Templemore. As I said, if we can get 225 in each time, they would be very good numbers. Recently, we have been getting up to 201 and we are doing very well.

The Deputy mentioned the numbers of attestations for 2023 and 2024. The 2023 number was higher than 2024. That was because in 2023 there were five attestations as opposed to four in 2024. Sometimes there can be an alteration in figures because of the fact there were more attestations in a particular year.

I have said that my objective is, and it is in the programme for Government, to secure the recruitment of 5,000 gardaí during the course of this Government, over five years. It is an ambitious task. I am seeking to achieve it. Part of the method by which I am doing it is through the recruitment campaign. The first recruitment campaign has been a success. The second way I am seeking to do it is to try to encourage people to join. The third way we are seeking to do it is that we have improved the training stipend for gardaí when they are in Templemore. We have increased that and we will consider increasing it further. Many steps are being taken.

We also need to be honest. There are consequences to operating in an economy with full employment. People have lots of options. However, we have to get people into An Garda Síochána.

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