Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 October 2025
37. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the progress that has been made to date in increasing Garda numbers in 2025; the expected recruitment numbers for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54198/25]
View answer64. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his Department’s plans to ensure there is an increase in the number of Gardaí recruited in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54219/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 64 together.
The Programme for Government commits to examining a range of further measures to enable An Garda Síochána recruit 5,000 members across the next five years.
The Garda Vote in Budget 2026 includes unprecedented funding of €2.59 billion which will support the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff.
At the end of August, the total Garda personnel strength stood at over 18,000, which included 14,369 Garda Members, 3,494 Staff, and 296 Reserves. I will continue to support An Garda Síochána to increase this number further so that we can see more Gardaí assigned all across the country.
Significant measures have been made to boost recruitment and retention including by increasing the Garda trainee allowance to €354 per week; increasing the age of entry from 35 to 50; and raising the mandatory retirement age to 62.
In February this year, the first Garda recruitment competition for 2025 was launched. This is the fourth such competition in recent years and despite the challenging labour market conditions, I am delighted to say that over 6,700 applications were received. This demonstrates the continued interest in a career as a member An Garda Síochána.
A second Garda recruitment competition launched on 16 September and closes on 9 October. In total this year, 571 trainee Gardaí have entered the college, with another intake due in November, ensuring a growing pipeline of trainee Gardaí.
In August 154 new Gardaí attested with 120 attesting in June and 149 in March. These Gardaí have now been allocated to stations around the country.
The Recruitment and Training Capacity Group was established in 2024 to support the achievement of increased recruitment. The Group has now completed its work and has published their report, which details the changes that have been made by An Garda Síochána and publicjobs to their end-to-end processes for Garda Trainee recruitment, including shortened recruitment timeframes, reform of the physical competency test, introduction of Assessment Centre approach to elements of recruitment and two recruitment competitions launched in 2025. These changes have significantly improved the situation on recruitment and the Group is satisfied that the process has been made much more efficient.
This group’s final report has been published just last week and is available on my Department’s website.
The Government has provided the funding to allow for sustained recruitment and, as I have outlined, is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs.
I would like to assure the Deputy that an increased, and a visible Garda presence, is central to the Government's aim to build safe and secure communities for the public to enjoy.
