Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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698. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current number of members of An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54935/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am 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.

At the end of August, the total Garda personnel strength stood at over 18,000, which included 14,369 Garda Members, 3,494 Staff, and 296 Reserves.

In the interest of transparency, An Garda Síochána publish information in relation to resources which is publicly available and 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/

The Deputy should select the Garda Workforce figures for August 2025 (the latest date for when information is published), and access the file titled “Garda Members by Division 2006 to 31st August 2025 ” for a breakdown of the current number of members of An Garda Síochána by Division.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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699. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of Gardaí in each of the past five years and to date in 2025 who applied to rejoin the Gardaí, the number who were accepted back, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54936/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Regrettably, this was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy once the information is to hand.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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700. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the total membership of the Garda Reserve, and the number who volunteered time, in the years 2020 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54940/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Garda Reserves bring a variety of experiences and perspectives to An Garda Síochána, including local knowledge and links to the communities in which they serve, which brings to life An Garda Síochána’s core value of community policing.

The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024. This includes all operational policing, such as the management of recording data on volunteer hours and for the recruitment and training of Garda reserves.

In the interest of transparency, An Garda Síochána publishes information in relation to the allocation of Garda members nationally, including Garda Reserve by Division, which 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/

The Deputy should select August 2025 (the latest date for when figures are available) and then select the report titled ‘Garda Reserve by Division 2009 to 31 of August 2025’

As of end of August 2025, there are 296 Garda Reserve members.

The Garda Budget of €2.59 billion for 2026 will fund the recruitment of up to 1,000 new Gardaí, 200 more Garda staff and a doubling of the Garda Reserve to over 600 next year.

A competition to recruit Garda Reserves was run in 2024, the first in many years and attracted about 1,800 applications. A reformed training program with training modules both online and in-person. The first successful group of 20 candidates entered Templemore in April 2025. They are expected to attest around the end of October. The second intake is expected to enter the College in late 2025.

New regulations governing recruitment, training and deployment of the Reserve was brought forward in 2024. This includes an increase to the Garda Reserve stipend, with up to €3,000 payable to Reserve members for 200 hours of volunteering, a significant increase from the previous maximum payment of €1,000. The stipend is now paid on the following basis:

Garda Reserve members are also reimbursed for any expenses incurred by them in attending courts, tribunals or other legal proceedings outside of their hours of duty.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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701. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his proposals to reinvigorate the Garda Reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54942/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government commits to examining a range of further measures to enable An Garda Síochána to increase the personnel in the organisation, including recruiting 5,000 new Garda members in the lifetime of the Government and increasing the Garda Reserve.

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

At the end of August, the total Garda personnel strength stood at over 18,000, which included 14,369 Garda Members, 3,494 Staff, and 296 Reserves. I will continue to support An Garda Síochána to increase this number further so that we can see more Gardaí assigned all across the country.

Last year, new regulations were made governing recruitment, training and deployment of the Reserve. Subsequently, a competition to recruit Garda Reserves opened in June 2024, the first in many years, and received over 1,800 applications. Garda Reserves play a vital role in their communities, and the revised regulations allow them to contribute even more effectively.

In addition, to help support the work of Reserves, the maximum stipend a Reserve member receives for voluntary service in a given year has been increased from €1,000 to €3,000.

The Government has provided the funding to allow for sustained recruitment and, as I have outlined, is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs.

I would like to assure the Deputy that an increased, and a visible Garda presence, is central to the Government's aim to build safe and secure communities for the public to enjoy.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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702. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the WTE civilian allocation to An Garda Síochána in the years 2020 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54943/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am 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.

In the interest of transparency, An Garda Síochána publish information in relation to the number of Garda Staff by Division and Station which is publicly available and can be found at the following link: www.garda.ie/garda/en/about-us/our-departments/human-resources-and-people-development/garda-hr-directorate/garda-strength-breakdown-2025/garda-strength-breakdown-2025.html

The Deputy should select August 2025 and, for the overall WTE Garda Staff figure, select the file titled " Garda Workforce Strength 2006 to August 31st 2025". This report includes details of the overall Garda workforce allocation by year, including the allocation of WTE Garda Staff.

For a breakdown of Garda Staff allocations by Division and station, the Deputy should select the file titled “Garda Staff by Division and Station 31 August 2025” for a breakdown of Garda Staff allocated to each Division and Station."