Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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449. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Gardaí that attested from the Garda Training College in 2024. [4645/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business under Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), including the recruitment and training of Garda members and staff.

I am advised that, since the reopening of the Garda college in September 2014, a total of 4,993 Garda members have attested and have been allocated to Garda stations nationwide. This includes 599 probationers who attested in 2024.

The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to fight crime and a strengthened, well-resourced Garda organisation is central to this policy. This is reflected in the unprecedented allocation of more than €2.48 billion to An Garda Síochána, a 27% increase since 2020. This funding allows for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff.

The Deputy may wish to note that information in relation to the allocation of Probationer Gardaí by Division and station breakdown is publicly available and can be found at the link below.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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451. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number and parentage of the overall Garda force that are due to retire in 2025, and in each of the subsequent four years, broken down by rank and Garda division; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4656/25]

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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452. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number and parentage of the overall Garda force that retired in 2024, broken down by rank and Garda division; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4657/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 451 and 452 together.

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 human resourcing matters. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.

I can, however, assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to a strengthened, well-resourced Garda organisation. This commitment is demonstrated by the provision of more than €2.48 billion to the Garda Vote this year, which is allowing for sustained and ongoing recruitment as well as investment in technology, new equipment and new vehicles.

As the Deputy is no doubt aware, as part of a Garda's terms and conditions they are eligible for early retirement after 30 years service, or alternatively they may opt to serve on, up to the mandatory retirement age.

The Government decided last year to extend the maximum age of retirement to 62 years. Increasing the mandatory retirement age reflects the reality that many people can and want to work in their chosen careers for longer. It is also important that An Garda Síochána, as an organisation, retains the knowledge and expertise of experienced people where possible, and it should also be noted that since 2020 my Department has processed 180 requests for retirement extensions.

There were 14,191 sworn members of An Garda Síochána at the end of December 2024 and a total workforce of just over 18,000. I am advised by the Garda authorities that there were 240 retirements in 2024, which represents 1.70% of the sworn ranks. A breakdown of retirements by rank is provided below. I am also informed that, in general, figures of less than 10 cannot be provided for operational and security reasons.

The Garda authorities have also provided the information set out in the table below regarding the number of Gardaí who will reach the age of 62 and, as such, be subject to compulsory retirement in the years 2025-2029. These figures do not include early or cost neutral retirements, as these categories may vary as set out above and projections are unpredictable.

To note: more Gardaí may be eligible for retirement each year based on their length of service or they may opt to continue to serve up to the maximum retirement age.

Please be advised that this information is operational and may be subject to change.

The Deputy may wish to note that statistics relating to Garda retirements are publicly available in the Garda Commissioner reports to the Policing Authority on the Garda website at the following link: www.garda.ie/en/information-centre/commissioner-s-monthly-reports-to-policing-authority/

In the interest of transparency, information in relation to the number of Gardaí on various leaves/secondments is publicly available and can be found at the following link. I can also advise the Deputy that I have received the most recent figures for December from An Garda Síochána which have been published on the website:

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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453. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the breakdown, by Garda division, of Garda response times to calls between 2020 and 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4658/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for all operational policing matters, including responses by An Garda Síochána to emergency calls. As Minister, I have no direct role in these matters.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána operates a Regional Control Room strategy which ensures that Garda resources are available to respond to calls for service from the public, including situations where a local resource is not immediately available.

Calls for service, whether received through a local Garda station or the 999 ECAS system, are routed through the Regional Control Rooms and prioritised for response. Higher priority calls will always take priority over lower priority calls.

The Garda authorities inform me that An Garda Síochána aim is to answer 80% of 999 calls within 7 seconds and deploy resources immediately giving an estimated time of arrival. An Garda Síochána will take appropriate steps to deal with all incidents and ensure that emergency and life-threatening calls receive priority. They will endeavour to get to callers within 15 minutes in urban locations and as soon as possible, given the distance to be travelled, in more rural areas.

As the Deputy will be aware, GardaSAFE, the new computer aided dispatch system in An Garda Síochána, was rolled out incrementally across the organisation in 2023. The last region, the Dublin Metropolitan Region, went live on GardaSAFE in late November 2023.

This new modern system is tailored to fit the specific needs of AGS and to provide a better response to victims of crime. The system is integrated with the mobility devices and other Garda apps, enhancing overall effectiveness. This new system provides improved governance, addressing a number of the recommendations of the Penman report.

Whilst the focus remains on the operational implementation of the system nationwide, there are some reports available to monitor performance. These are focused on live operational aspects, for example for the Control Centres to monitor call volumes. Over time, and as the amount of data available from GardaSAFE increases, there will be additional reports available within GardaSAFE itself, and also the ability to utilise the data for bespoke queries and analysis, including the development of Key Performance Indicators.