Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 February 2024
409. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice the number of members of An Garda Síochána that are due to retire in each of the following years 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7596/24]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, retirement of members of An Garda Síochána is governed by law, which sets the mandatory retirement age for all members at 60 years of age.
Members of An Garda Síochána who joined prior to 1 April 2004 may retire on full pension at 50 years of age once they have served at least 30 years. Those who joined on or after 1 April 2004 may retire on full pension at 55 years of age with 30 years of service.
Gardaí have the option of continuing to serve until they reach 60, subject to the Garda Commissioner being satisfied that they are fully competent and available to undertake their duties.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that projected departures are kept under continuous review and that the level of recruitment is adjusted as necessary in order to maintain the desired strength.
At the end of December 2023, there were just under 14,000 Gardaí, which represents an increase of around 9% since 2015 when there were 12,816 Gardaí throughout the country.
The number of recruits in the Garda training college continue to increase with a total of 746 trainees having entered Templemore in 2023, the highest intake in any year since 2018.
As the Deputy is aware, for the third year running, a new Garda recruitment competition was run from 15 January to 8 February of this year. I am delighted to note that a total of 6,400 applications were received.
The table below, as provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets the number of Garda members who are eligible to retire in the years 2024 up to 2028.
|
Year |
2024 |
2025 |
2026 |
2027 |
2028 |
|
Eligible |
722 |
1008 |
1237 |
1546 |
1904 |
|
Of which are Compulsory |
112 |
79 |
85 |
95 |
137 |
Additional information on Garda staff, the Garda Workforce and other facts and figures are available at the following link: www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/An_Garda_Siochana_facts_and_figures
