Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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With the enactment of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019, members of An Garda Síochána gained access to the industrial relations machinery of the state, including the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. In parallel, new internal dispute resolution mechanisms were introduced in An Garda Síochána at that time and the management of industrial relations in An Garda Síochána came under the direct remit of the Garda Commissioner.

The Garda roster which is currently in operation, and which has become known as the “Covid Roster”, was introduced by the Commissioner to deal with the specific policing requirements that arose during the Covid pandemic. It was always intended by the Commissioner to be a temporary roster, to be replaced in due course. This Roster reflected the fact that the country was in lockdown and that the policing requirements were more evenly spread than would be normal.

The Commissioner extended the roster on 13 occasions, with the most recent extensions intended to facilitate the conclusion of talks on a new roster.

The Government wishes to see a solution to this issue in order to support the health and well-being of members of AGS and also ensure whatever roster is in place serves the public especially the most vulnerable in society.

The only way to resolve these differences is through talking and engagement. The industrial relations machinery of the State which have a proven record of resolving the most difficult disputes is available, as are the internal Garda dispute resolution mechanisms.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and the 2023 budget of over €2 billion will allow for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff, with Garda recruits entering Templemore approximately every 11 weeks. I can assure the Deputy that the Government remains committed to reaching its current targets of 15,000 Gardaí and 4,000 Garda staff.

Overall, since 2015 there has been an almost 9% increase in the number of Gardaí. There was also a more than 56% increase in Garda staff for the same period. Garda Staff perform a number of vital roles that are essential to a modern police service and increase the availability of Gardaí to concentrate on frontline policing duties.

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the distribution and stationing of the Garda Síochána throughout the State. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions.

As of 30 September 2021, there were 14,345 Garda members nationwide. As of 31 August 2023, the latest information available, there were 13,910 Garda members across the country.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that between January and September 2021 there were 207 retirements, comprising of 143 voluntary and 64 compulsory retirements. I am also advised that for the same period in 2023, there were 216 retirements, comprising 165 voluntary and 51 compulsory retirements.

Since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014, a total of 4,116 new recruits have attested as Gardaí and been assigned to duties nationwide. This includes the 628 Probationer Gardaí who have attested since the formation of the Government in June 2020.

In the interest of transparency, Garda workforce figures are published on gov.ie and regularly updated by my Department, from information supplied by the Garda Authorities. The allocation of Probationer Gardaí, who have attested from the Garda College, up to the end of July 2023 can be found at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/7c2e6-probationer-gardai/