Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I agree with the Deputy that we obviously need to get more gardaí on our streets. We need to recruit and train more gardaí. The Deputy has made some suggestions as to how he thinks that can be done and I will come back to that in a moment. I need to make a few points about the level of investment we are now making in the Garda budget to empower the Garda Commissioner and Garda authorities to increase the numbers. We have a Garda budget of €2.59 billion for next year. This will fund recruitment of up to 1,000 new gardaí and 200 more Garda staff and also a doubling of the Garda Reserve to over 600 next year. We have run two Garda recruitment campaigns in 2025 and we have seen more than 11,000 applications to join An Garda Síochána received this year. There is genuinely a sense when I talk to the Minister and Garda authorities, as the Deputy can probably see himself, that there is some momentum with the number of people going into Templemore, though I admit it has been a challenging number of years. We saw, for example, 194 gardaí attested last week. This brings the total number of newly attested gardaí so far this year to 617. We saw 223 trainees enter Templemore in the last couple of weeks as well. This was the largest intake in Templemore since 2014, so the largest intake in 11 years. We have seen 794 trainees enter Templemore so far this year, which is the most since 2018. There are larger attestations, the largest training classes going on and the largest number of people overall training in Templemore in many years.

As of October this year, which is the latest month for which numbers are available, there are a total of 14,290 gardaí across the State. For comparison, in 2015, there were 12,816. There are now 3,487 Garda staff, which obviously helps to free up gardaí to put them on front-line duties as well. The Deputy asked specifically about the Garda training allowance and pension. I hear these issues too. I was in Coolock Garda station not too long ago. This discussion came up last year too. I need to say that all of these matters are for discussion and engagement through normal processes, public pay processes and the likes, rather than for me to give loose commitments on the floor of the Dáil.

Specifically on the third point, about Garda capital, I know the Minister for justice had approval at Cabinet this week for the Garda sectoral plan, as part of the sectoral investment plan in justice. That will see a significant increase in the number of Garda stations being constructed in the time ahead. I am conscious of the point the Deputy makes and I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, about this, particularly with the fast-growing populations around Swords, Donabate and the likes, and the particular need for additional infrastructure there. I will ask the Minister to come back on that.

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