Peadar Tóibín
Question:1107. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí who took early retirement in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [1513/24]
View answerWednesday, 17 January 2024
Questions (1107)
Written answers
I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Unfortunately, the information was not received in time. I will contact the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 1107 of 17 January 2024 where you sought: “To ask the Minister for Justice the number of Gardaí who took early retirement in each of the past five years, in tabular form.”
As you will recall, I sought the information you requested from the Garda authorities and undertook to contact you again once the information was to hand.
The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities – and strengthening An Garda Síochána is at the core of that. We will continue to provide An Garda Síochána with the resources it needs to ensure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe.
The unprecedented allocation of over €2 billion for 2023 and a further €2.31 billion for 2024 to An Garda Síochána demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring An Garda Síochána has provision for the equipment, technology, facilities, fleet and personnel it needs to carry out vital policing work.
There are currently around 14,000 Garda members across the country. This represents an increase of around 9% since 2015. In addition, the civilianisation programme has freed up almost 900 Garda members from back office work for front line policing work since 2015. You may also be interested to know that 746 trainee Gardaí entered Templemore in 2023, the highest number to enter Templemore since 2018.
As you 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 for the recruitment, training and deployment of Garda members. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. I am, however, assured that the Commissioner keeps the allocation of these resources under continued review, in line with crime and population trends, to ensure their optimum use.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that a total of 17 Garda members took early retirement (Cost Neutral Early Retirement) between the 2019 and 2023 inclusive, which equates to fewer than 10 early retirements per year.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that data is not released by An Garda Síochána for counts fewer than 10 for data protection and security reasons.
I trust this information is of assistance.