Peadar Tóibín
Question:1106. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons recruited to An Garda Síochána in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [1512/24]
View answerWednesday, 17 January 2024
Questions (1106)
Written answers
The Government is committed to providing An Garda Síochána with the resources it needs to ensure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe.
This is reflected in the allocation of €2.3 billion in Budget 2024 to An Garda Síochána, a 23% increase since 2020. This funding provides for 800-1000 new Garda recruits. Growing the strength of An Garda Síochána to 15,000 and beyond.
There has also been a significant increase in the training allowance paid to trainees to €305 per week, and the maximum age of recruitment has been increased from 35 to 50.
The Government will continue to provide An Garda Síochána with the resources it needs to ensure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe, including to invest in recruitment, in equipment and technology and in buildings.
Recruitment into An Garda Síochána has accelerated following the forced closure of the Garda College during Covid-19, with 746 trainees entering Templemore last year. A new Garda recruitment competition launched this week and will help ensure a steady pipeline on recruits entering Templemore in the near future. The total intake of 746 for 2023 represents a six-fold increase on 2022’s intake of 116. It is the highest intake into the Garda College since 2018.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that the table below shows the number of Garda recruits for the last 5 years:
|
Year |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
Total |
|
Garda Recruits |
605 |
522 |
148 |
370 |
388 |
2043 |
I expect the number of recruits in 2024 will increase further with high numbers going through the Garda College at present.