Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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283. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality in view of increased recruitment, the plans being considered to train and accommodate trainee Gardaí; and to detail any proposal to expand the facilities at Templemore. [54199/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Getting more Gardaí on our streets to prevent crime is my first priority as Minister for Justice.

This 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.

The Garda Vote in Budget 2026 includes unprecedented funding of €2.59 billion which will support the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff.

The Recruitment and Training Capacity Group was established in 2024 to support the achievement of increased recruitment. The Group has now completed its work and has published their report, which details the changes that have been made by An Garda Síochána and publicjobs to their end-to-end processes for Garda Trainee recruitment, shortened recruitment timeframes, reform of the physical competency test, introduction of an Assessment Centre approach to elements of recruitment and two recruitment competitions launched in 2025. These changes have significantly improved the situation on recruitment and the Group is satisfied that the process has been made much more efficient. The group’s final report is available on my Department’s website at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/publications/an-garda-s%C3%ADoch%C3%A1na-recruitment-training-capacity-group-report-september-2025/

The Group has recommended that research be conducted to gain further insight on the decision-making process of potential Garda recruits, to help inform further enhancements to the recruitment process.

The Report also recommends that a Working Group be established to consider specifically the case for a second training college and the role that the tertiary system could play in the delivery of Garda training. I've asked for that work to be expedited.

In respect of the Garda College in Templemore works commenced on the campus during the summer of 2025 and will be overseen by OPW. The intention is that when this work is completed, the College will be able to accommodate up to 250 trainees per intake.