Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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81. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of the recruitment of 100 gardaí including the costs associated with their training, payroll and allowances. [43108/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Recruitment to An Garda Síochána is governed by the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013. The Public Appointments Service (PAS) manage the recruitment process on behalf of the Garda Commissioner and I have no direct involvement in the matter.

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 1 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 obviously increase as the members move up the Garda pay scale each year.

I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the cost of training recruits is subsumed into the overall training costs of the Garda College and is not easily identifiable. The total cost of running the Garda College in 2014 was approximately €14m, which includes the salary costs of all College personnel.