Verona Murphy
Question:321. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Justice on what date the next intake of Garda recruits is expected to pass out/attest; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49419/23]
View answerTuesday, 14 November 2023
Questions (321)
Written answers
As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for the recruitment and training of Garda members. This includes the administration of the Garda College, Templemore and the dates for attestation ceremonies. As Minister, I have no role in such matters.
Numbers in Templemore continue to increase, with attestations every 3 months - 135 trainees entered the training college in February, 154 entered in May, 174 entered in July, and another 177 entered the college last month, the largest intake since Covid. This mean that nearly 500 trainees are currently in the system, with one more class due into Templemore in December. 237 new Gardaí have attested so far this year and we are on track to have between 700 and 800 new recruits into the college in 2023.
I am advised that the next attestations of Probationer Gardaí from Templemore are due to take place in January and March 2024. The exact dates for each ceremony will be confirmed by the Garda authorities closer to the time.