Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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33. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on total Garda numbers in County Donegal; if he will outline his plans to increase Garda recruitment in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25300/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda Síochána is central to that. Since 2015, the Government has increased the budget of An Garda Síochána by approximately €672m, or 46%. This has allowed for sustained and ongoing recruitment.

The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including responsibility for the recruitment, training and deployment of Garda members.

The Government’s current plan is to have at least 15,000 Gardaí and 4,000 Garda staff making a total Garda workforce of 19,000 people, as soon as possible. These plans were understandably interrupted by the Covid pandemic when recruitment had to be stalled. While the Garda college remained closed during Covid, two competitions have been held post-Covid and recruitment has recommenced.

There has been an increase of 9% in the number of Garda members since 2015. In addition, since 2015, almost 900 Gardaí have been freed up from back office duties to front line policing as a result of civilianisation.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that there were 438 Garda members assigned to the Donegal Division as of the end of April. This represents an increase of over 11% since 2015 when there were 392 members assigned to the Division.

The Government has provided funding for up to 1,000 new Gardaí this year and we are seeing more Garda recruits enter Templemore approximately every 11 weeks.

As the Deputy will be aware the most recent An Garda Síochána recruitment campaign closed last month and will ensure a steady pipeline of new Gardaí into 2024.

My Department and I engage regularly with the Garda authorities with a view to ensuring that every possible support is in place to deliver on this level of recruitment.