Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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479. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Gardaí who have retired or left the force; and the number of probationary or additional Gardaí assigned to Cork in each of the past five years. [53202/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I have been provided with the following table by the Garda authorities which outlines the number of Gardaí assigned to Cork County and Cork City Divisions who have resigned and retired in each of the past 5 years. Figures include Voluntary, Compulsory, Cost Neutral Early Retirements, and Ordinary Resignations:

The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution and stationing of Garda personnel throughout the State under Section 33 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.

Significant measures have been made to boost Garda recruitment in recent years including increasing the Garda trainee allowance; increasing the age of entry from 35 to 50; and the mandatory retirement age to 62. So far this year 571 Garda trainees have entered Templemore, and one more intake will enter in November of this year.

I can inform the Deputy that between 2020 and so far in 2025, 180 Probationer Gardaí have been assigned to Garda Divisions in Cork.

In the interest of transparency, An Garda Síochána publishes detailed breakdowns on the allocation of Gardaí by Division, Station and rank. This information is updated on a monthly basis. This can be found at the following link:

www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/human-resources-and-people-development/garda-hr-directorate/garda-strength-breakdown-2025/

To access these figures the Deputy should select the Garda Workforce figures for August and access the file titled “Garda members by Division District Station 2009 to 31 August 2025” for a breakdown of Gardaí by Garda station going back to 2009.

In relation to the number of Probationer Gardaí assigned to a Division from the Garda College, Templemore, the Deputy should use the link provided and select the file titled 'Allocation of Probationer Gardaí by Division and Station 2015 to present'.

Please note that the latest Garda attestation took place on 22 August 2025. I'm informed by An Garda Síochána that Probationer Gardaí remain allocated to the Garda College for one week following attestation. Their Divisional allocations do not take effect during this time, as such for statistical consistency their allocations may not appear in published figures until the following month. They are however, included within the overall available strength of An Garda Síochána once attested.