Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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40. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which provision is being made to ensure a sufficient increase in the strength of An Garda Síochána to meet law and order requirements now and in the future given demographic trends and events; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38135/24]

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

In 2024, a budget allocation of over €2.35 billion has been provided 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.

A number of actions have been taken 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 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.

This year, 186 trainees entered the Garda college in April, another 157 entered in July, and 125 entered this week on Monday (23 September 2024). One more intake is scheduled for December of this year.

My Department 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.

I understand that the requirements of all Garda Divisions nationwide are also taken into account, which include:

• Local and national crime trends and workloads;
• Policing arrangements and operational strategies;
• Minimum establishment statistics;
• Local population and trends, geographical area and size;
• Transfer applications, including welfare, personnel issues and concerns.