I would like to assure the Deputy that my Department is committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have the resources they need to serve their vital role in the community. An unprecedented €2.14 billion has been allocated as part of Budget 2023 to An Garda Síochána, an increase of €78 million on last year. This level of funding is enabling sustained, ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff, facilitating Garda plans to recruit up to 1,000 new Gardaí in 2023, and over 400 Garda staff.
As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with 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 such I have no role in these matters.
The following table, provided to me by An Garda Síochána, outlines the number of resignations of new Garda recruits who have left the force within two years of completion of training for each year from 2018 to 2021. For context, the table also outlines the number of new Gardaí who attested in the same years as those members who resigned:
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|
Recruitment 2016 - 2019
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|
Resignations 2018 - 2022
|
Year
|
Number of Gardaí attested
|
Year
|
Number of resignations
|
2016
|
393
|
2018
|
18
|
2017
|
883
|
2019
|
26
|
2018
|
789
|
2020
|
23
|
2019
|
605
|
2021
|
28
|
Total
|
2,670
|
Total
|
95
|