Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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127. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update on the number of gardaí who have resigned from the force in each of the past three years, broken down by rank; if his Department has conducted any analysis into the reasons behind the increase in resignations; if it is intended to introduce specific retention initiatives, to stem attrition and retain experienced members of An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24596/25]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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On 26 February 2024, the Minister wrote about the potential for 6,400 gardaí to leave the force over the next three years. What are the plans to address the retention of gardaí? What is the number of gardaí leaving the force? What will the Minister to do address that?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I had a look at the statistics on the number of gardaí leaving the force. This year and last year, we are talking about between 1% and 2% leaving. Based on the calculations we have seen to the end of March, we are probably looking at somewhere in the region of 140 gardaí resigning from the force this year and with around 14,000 on the force. That is around 1%, which is extremely low. If one looks at the corresponding figures in the UK, we see that approximately 10% resign from the police force there.

I do not want to lose any gardaí, especially when, as is currently the case, numbers are tight. We want to get numbers up to 15,000, so we cannot be in a position where gardaí are resigning. We need to ensure that we try to retain as many of them as possible. Unfortunately, and this is a compliment to An Garda Síochána, gardaí are highly employable individuals. People want to hire members of An Garda Síochána because they come with great discipline and training and are very employable in the private sector. That is why it is very important that I try to ensure the terms and conditions of offer within the public sector are as good and as attractive as possible.

Resignations are not as big an issue as I thought previously, but it is something that we need to keep a close eye on. The United States, New Zealand and Canada have all reported an increase in resignations from their police forces that are in excess of the rates that have been seen in An Garda Síochána. We need to get the recruitment numbers up because we are always going to have people who decide they want to try a different career. At present, I am trying encourage people to leave other careers and join An Garda Síochána, so we must recognise that it may work the other way as well.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I appreciate that 1% or 2% does not seem particularly high, but Garda numbers are particularly low. The Commissioner has talked about getting the numbers up to 18,000, but the 1% or 2% leaving is not being matched by people coming in. There is also the potential for 6,400 gardaí to retire in the next three years, which is incredible. Gardaí are leaving the force for a multitude of reasons but we only have anecdotal evidence of that. We have senior gardaí going into the Civil Service and rank-and-file gardaí going into the Prison Service, but we do not know why they are leaving. If we could capture that evidence, it would be very helpful.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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That is a valid point. There was some feedback from departure interviews as to why gardaí were leaving. My recollection is that 47% or 48% just got a better offer in the private sector. Regarding the Commissioner's figure of 18,000, we need to take into account that there are many civilians working within An Garda Síochána. They are not gardaí but they do work that was done by members of the force previously. We have approximately 3,500 civilians within the force at present and approximately 14,200 gardaí. Collectively, along with reserves numbering around 300, we will get up to 18,000. It is a demanding challenge to get more people to join. All I can do, and all Members can do, is try to encourage people to join. It is a very fulfilling and exiting job. It is different to most jobs that people get to do. We live in a society where many jobs are very sedentary in nature. Being a garda is an exciting, active job. I encourage people to consider it.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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It is an exciting job but the demands are incredible and the pay, in many instances, does not provide the capacity to afford to live in the cities that gardaí are asked to police. People are leaving. While the figure in this regard is only 1% or 2%, the force is still understaffed. An intensive campaign to recruit gardaí needs to do more than tell people it is an exciting job when they are dreading the bills coming in every week. I know the Minister recognises that.

We need more of a plan. We had a recruitment process and many people expressed an interest and filled out applications but that does not seem to have translated into gardaí coming out at the end. I encourage the Minister to try to understand better why people are leaving the force. There is space for more retention officers on the force in order that when people are considering leaving, they can outline their concerns, whether emotional or financial, to a particular individual. We need to be innovative in terms of how we seek to keep gardaí on the force.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am obviously very accountable to the House, as I should be. Any information that my Department can provide will be provided. I will look into the issue the Deputy raises about getting further information from An Garda Síochána. Sometimes that just takes a bit of time but I have no difficulty with being accountable in this House for what gardaí do.

There is nothing we can do about retirements although we did manage to change the age from 60 to 62. Sometimes I grant extensions to 63 or 64. In fact, invariably if I am asked, I will extend a garda's term of service because we want to keep people in the force. I have the say that the explanations that are provided indicate to me that we should be keeping people within the force because of the expertise they have.

Resignations are a different matter. We are always going to have resignations. In terms of the reasons for resignations, I will go back and have a look at some of the post-resignation or departure interviews but most of them, from my recollection, were standard reasons. As I said to Deputy Gannon, many of them were because gardaí got different offers in the private sector. Obviously, terms and conditions are important. What I cannot do, however, because I would be thrown out of Government if I did, is start agreeing separate terms with An Garda Síochána outside of the public service pay agreements that apply.