Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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120. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the total cost of recruiting 100 additional gardaí in 2016, including the cost associated with training 100 new gardaí. [32526/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that the payroll costs for new Garda recruits include a basic allowance of €184 per week plus a living allowance of €77.92. After 32 weeks of training, Garda recruits are attested and move on to the first point of the Garda pay scale €23,171 rising to a maximum of €45,793 per annum after 19 years. They may also qualify for other allowances depending on their assignments. The annual cost of 100 new Garda recruits in their first year (assuming a commencement date of 1st January) is €1.88m.

This figure includes Employer's PRSI but excludes any allowances which the recruits may qualify for following attestation. The annual cost will increase as the members’ move up the Garda pay scale each year.

The cost of training recruits is subsumed into the overall training costs of the Garda College and would require a disproportionate amount of Garda resources to calculate. The total cost of running the Garda College in 2014 was approximately €14m, which includes the salary costs of all College personnel.