Fergus O'Dowd
Question:12. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Justice to provide an update on the Garda recruitment campaign; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44098/23]
View answerWednesday, 11 October 2023
Questions (12)
Oral answers (18 contributions)
My question was answered to some degree by the reply the Minister gave in respect of the previous question. I welcome what the Minister said, particularly about the additional €172 million for An Garda Síochána. How many extra gardaí does the Minister expect to have in the college by the end of this year?
My overall ambition in this year’s budget was to ensure we could support An Garda Síochána in whatever way possible. This is not just by increasing their numbers, but by supporting those who are already active and doing great work on the ground. That is why we have allocated €2.3 billion, which is the largest figure ever for An Garda Síochána. It represents an increase of €172 million overall. That money is going towards making sure that when it comes to recruitment, money is not an issue. We will recruit between 800 and 1,000. I again acknowledge that we will likely have four classes next year instead of five. This is just because of the way the timings work out. However, I do not want funding to be any sort of a problem in recruitment.
Regarding the numbers this year, when adding the various different classes that have gone through Templemore, those who are currently in Templemore, those who will start this week and those who will start at the end of December, there will be close to 800, if not beyond 800 members. While that is not the target of 1,000, it is certainly very close. We are building on that and gathering momentum. We will also have a recruitment campaign to make sure that a steady stream will come through the college at all times. As well as this, we are supporting an increase in civilian staff who will free up front-line Garda members. We are also making sure that for the first time in six years we will have a competition for the Garda Reserve, which will support the work of the gardaí on the ground.
It is really important that we keep this momentum going and that we support gardaí while they are training. That is why we have increased the training allowance for the first time in more than a decade. Members who are in the Garda College currently receive €184 per week, but they will now be getting €305 per week. That applies to anyone who is in the college from yesterday. Therefore, even though a class is finishing up this week, its members will receive that rate for the recent days from the budget. All the other classes that have come in from the last two intakes, as well as the remaining two this year, will see that increase. That is coupled with the funding they are given when they are out on duty-----
I thank the Minister.
-----or when they are training in various stations. That is our way of supporting them and making sure they have the resources to be able to get into training and to take up what is a fantastic and valuable profession.
I welcome the Minister’s comments. In particular, I welcome the reassurance for the whole country that we will have more gardaí, that they will be better looked after in terms of better training and that there will be an additional Garda Reserve presence.
I would like to ask a question without going into the detail. I appreciate the position as to why people resign as opposed to retiring. The Minister spoke about tackling that from the retention side. Has the Minister commissioned a study or report as to how we can keep people in the service? What are the reasons they give for leaving, if the Minister has them? What is the Minister’s view of the question of the retirement age? I appreciate her comment to the effect that she is looking at that matter. It would be very beneficial if she could retain people who have provided a major service and who could serve in a different capacity, given the expert knowledge and experience they possess.
In terms of the overall numbers, we knew we would most likely see a drop. We have gone below 14,000, but we are now in a position where that is steadying. After the next intake, we will most likely be in a position where we will be above 14,000 again. We are moving in the right direction.
The closure in the Garda College during Covid-19, as well as the fact that we are coming into a period where many members are retiring - simply because it is their time to do so and because they want to - we have been left with the significant drop we have seen in the past year. However, given the steady flow of numbers going through the college - the most recent intakes were 135 and 174, respectively - I am confident that we will have a significant number again, even within the next week. I am also confident that we will have a higher number again by the end of the year.
We always have to look at people’s reasons for leaving. There is an exit interview that takes place for every member who leaves. Those interviews have identified a number of reasons for people leaving. Some of those reasons are definitely personal. However, others relate to the challenges of the job-----
I thank the Minister.
-----and the systems and structures that are being put in place. There is a lot of change happening at present, and it is happening in a very short period. We have to acknowledge that. I know the Garda Commissioner acknowledges that a great deal of change happening. That is why there are continuous reviews to make sure the new systems, online procedures, new roles and people’s tasks are continuously updated. As well as this, it ensures that the feedback we get from Garda members will be fed into any changes that need to take place in order to make it as easy as possible.
However, the best way for us to support gardaí is by making sure we have more of them because this will lessen the workload. That is why when it comes to the Garda, recruitment is the number one priority, The latter will ensure that we have as many members as possible to lighten the load and lessen the burden that many members are experiencing at the moment.
I thank the Minister. I do not know if that interview summary will be published or not. If it is, it would be very helpful to see the non-personal reasons in order that we can study and analyse them. One of the impacts of the resignations is that if the numbers in a particular cohort are lower than we need, it will often impact community gardaí. I live in a town that has had a lot of trouble with drugs, crime, etc., and the community gardaí there are a huge advantage. They provide a major support service to the community and, in particular, to the people who live in communities that are under siege daily because of drug abuse and crime.
I appreciate the Minister’s reply. I ask for a plan with the Garda Commissioner to determine the projected number of people we can retain. I refer not to retirements but to resignations.
I mentioned that a lot of change is happening, but change can be good as well.
Yes, it can.
One of the biggest changes in the new divisional model that is being rolled out is for teams of community gardaí in every small area across the country. That is only being rolled out. It is not yet in place in every county. We need more gardaí to populate the areas. We must ensure that for every small community there will be a community garda. Everybody will know who that person is and what their phone number is. If somebody has a problem, they will be able to ring them. These gardaí play a very special role within communities. They also then free up other core members, as well as those who are working in specialist teams, such as financial fraud, domestic abuse or crime. It is really important that we continue to increase the numbers of gardaí so we can populate these community teams. Part of that is through supporting the way in which they work, as well as providing the supports that they need. That is why we have an unprecedented budget this year. That is why we are not only investing in-----
Thank you, Minister.
-----the training allowance. This year, we are actually investing in mental health support programmes, well-being programmes and programmes to benefit their health in general. We are supporting things such as the provision of clothing and armour. We will be supporting and investing further in vehicles, ICT and other technology. All these things will help to achieve a better working dynamic and support gardaí to do their job as efficiently and effectively as possible. In turn, I hope that will mean that fewer people will want to leave or go on to something different.
Sure.
However, we have to look at this as a very dynamic working environment at the moment. The attrition rate in An Garda Síochána was approximately 3% last year. In other jurisdictions, it is approximately 5.6%. We are not doing too badly overall.