Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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When it comes to recruitment and retention, nothing is off the table. This is an area to which the Garda and I are committed.

A new media campaign was launched across television, radio, newspapers and social media to promote the Garda trainee campaign. The Garda has also promoted it by engaging with communities across the country, including local engagement with third level institutions and various representatives groups. Certain Garda stations also held open days. The Garda is continuously working on ways to reach out to communities and ensure that we have as diverse a representation as possible. It is important that when someone engages with An Garda Síochána, the person can see himself or herself in it and that it represents the community from which he or she comes, be it a new Irish community, the LGBT community or another group. Whatever people’s backgrounds, it is important that they can see themselves reflected in the people who are there to keep them and everyone else safe.

The training steering group that was established in the Garda identified initiatives to improve the attraction and retention of suitable eligible candidates, including the holding of exit interviews to identify people’s reasons for leaving after being in the profession for a number of years or even in the middle of training. We must determine how to support gardaí every step of the way. Budget 2024 includes an unprecedented allocation of €2.31 billion for the Garda, an increase of 23% since 2020 and an increase of €172 million since last year. A significant amount of that money will go towards ensuring that we can continue recruiting members by, for example, increasing the availability allowance for gardaí while they are in the college to support them financially, allowing for extra overtime and providing civilian staff to support the work of gardaí.

A great deal of work is being done to ensure that we have as diverse a Garda workforce as possible.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I will briefly outline the three ways in which we are helping to attract new members. We have expanded diversity teams within the Garda, meaning that we have dedicated gardaí to reach out to various communities. This creates a link or trust that might not have existed before. Building these relationships encourages people to see a career in the Garda where they might not have previously.

There is a fantastic graduate programme, which focuses on school leavers and those in their transition or leaving certificate years in particular. A fantastic and diverse group of graduates are coming through each class. I met some of them. It is important that this continue, as many of them see themselves working in the Garda in the long term and subsequently apply to the recruitment campaigns. An Irish language strategy has been published by the Garda with the sole ambition of having as many members as possible from Gaeltacht areas or with a proficiency in the Irish language working on the front line.