Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of members of the Garda Síochána, of the different ranks, who are within one year of retirement age, in tabular form; and the number within one to two years of retirement age. [32166/16]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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51. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans for facilitating members of the force who wish to stay on beyond the current retirement age. [32167/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 51 together.

I have been advised by the Garda Commissioner that the following table sets out the number of members of An Garda Síochána, by rank, who must compulsorily retire by the end of the 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Retirement of members of An Garda Síochána is governed by statutory provisions which set the mandatory retirement age for all members at 60 years of age. Members of An Garda Síochána who joined the organisation prior to 1 April 2004 may retire on full pension once they have served for at least 30 years and they have reached 50 years of age. Members of An Garda Síochána who joined the organisation on or after 1 April 2004 may retire on full pension once they have served at least 30 years and have reached 55 years of age. Accordingly, a member has the option of continuing to serve until they reach 60 years of age. I have no plans to bring forward any proposals to alter these arrangements.

This Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. In furtherance of this I recently announced that the Government has approved my proposal for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. In 2017, funding has been provided for the recruitment of 800 Garda recruits and up to 500 civilians to support the wide ranging reform plan in train in An Garda Síochána. Appointments will also be made to the Garda Reserve of approximately 300.

Taking account of projected retirements, reaching a strength of 15,000 will require some 3,200 new Garda members to be recruited on a phased basis over the next four years in addition to the 1,200 that will have been recruited by the end of this year since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014. So far 534 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and are assigned to mainstream uniform duties nationwide. Another 150 will attest later this year.

In order to continue to ensure seamless ongoing recruitment I was very pleased to announce the commencement of a new recruitment campaign on 8 September. The campaign is being organised by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Commissioner. The existing recruitment campaign (launched last November) is ongoing and successful candidates will continue to be called from that campaign this year and into next year. It is expected that successful candidates from the new campaign will enter the Garda College from mid-2017.

Number of Members of An Garda Síochána who will reach Compulsory Retirement Age 2016 -2018*