Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will appreciate the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management of and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes the recruitment and retention of Garda members.

The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities – and strengthening An Garda Síochána is at the core of that. We will continue to provide An Garda Síochána with the resources it needs to ensure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe, including to invest in recruitment, in equipment and technology and in buildings.

Budget 2024 provides €2.3 billion to An Garda Síochána. This is a 23% increase since 2020. This funding allows for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff and includes a significant increase in the training allowance paid to trainee Gardaí which is now €305 per week.

Nothing is off the table when it comes to ways to improve recruitment and retention and the decision to increase the maximum age of recruitment from 35 to 50 was approved by Government last week.

Recruitment into An Garda Síochána has accelerated following the forced closure of the Garda College due to Covid-19, and we are now seeing Garda recruits regularly enter Templemore.

Numbers in Templemore continue to increase, with attestations every 3 months. A total of 637 trainees entered the training college in 2023. Another class is due to enter Templemore this month putting An Garda Síochána on track for between 700 and 800 new recruits into the college this year.

237 new Gardaí have attested so far this year. The next Attestation which was scheduled for 12 January has been brought forward to 15 December. Over 150 trainees are due to attest on this date and will be deployed for policing duties over the Christmas period. They will return to the college to complete their studies at a later date.

Interest in a career with An Garda Síochána is as strong as ever and round 5,000 applications were received in the most recent Garda competition. A new competition will open again in the coming weeks.