Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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50. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Gardaí in Cork city; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38189/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. Having said that, the unprecedented allocation of over €2 billion for 2023 and €2.35 billion for 2024 to An Garda Síochána demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring there is provision for the necessary equipment, technology, facilities, fleet and personnel.

I am assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review, in the context of crime trends and policing priorities.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that at the end of June 2024, the latest date for which figures are available, there was a total of 1,269 Garda members assigned to Cork. Of this total, there were 667 Garda members assigned to Cork City Division.

I am further advised that as of the same date there are 217 Garda staff working alongside Garda members in Cork, a total which has doubled since 2015. Garda staff carry out vital roles to increase availability of Gardaí to focus on frontline duties. The significant increase in Garda staff across the country in recent years has enabled 900 Gardaí to be freed up for frontline duties.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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51. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to recruitment campaigns being run by other countries' police forces in Ireland; if her Department has undertaken any assessment of the impact these campaigns are having on recruitment to the Gardaí; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37987/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I would like to assure the Deputy that I am absolutely committed to providing An Garda Síochána with the resources necessary to make sure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe.

While I am aware of efforts by foreign police services to recruit members of An Garda Síochána, I am advised that the number of Gardaí leaving to join a foreign police service is low. Furthermore, there have been a number of cases, where Gardaí who had previously resigned to join another police service, have been readmitted to An Garda Síochána.

More generally, in 2024, I have provided a budget allocation of over €2.35 billion to An Garda Síochána. This is a 25% increase since 2020 and will allow for the sustained recruitment of new Garda recruits through to next year.

I have taken a number of actions to support increased recruitment. We have increased the age of entry from 35 to 50, extended the retirement age to 62 and most recently increased the training allowance to €354. This represents an increase of over 92% in the last 12 months. The Government is determined that An Garda Síochána grows to 15,000 members and beyond.

The response to this year’s Garda recruitment campaign in January and February was very strong. I am advised by the Garda authorities that 6,381 people applied for the 2024 Garda Trainee Competition. The Commissioner has also recently committed to running recruitment campaigns annually.

I will continue to engage with the Garda Commissioner to determine additional measures that can be taken in order to reach the Government’s target of 15,000 Gardaí and beyond.

An Garda Síochána continue to work on the mitigation of various resourcing challenges and the Deputy may already be aware that I have established a Garda Recruitment Training Capacity Group.