Matt Carthy
Question:160. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the plans for increasing the Garda training allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6084/26]
View answerTuesday, 27 January 2026
Questions (160)
Written answers
Getting more Gardaí onto our streets and making sure they are highly visible and well equipped to prevent and detect crime is my first priority as Minister.
As of November 2025, the latest date for which figures are available, the total Garda workforce now stands at over 18,200. This includes Gardaí, Garda staff and Garda Reserves.
The Programme for Government commits to examining a range of further measures to enable An Garda Síochána to recruit 5,000 members. This Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs and Budget 2026 provides unprecedented funding of €2.74 billion including support for ongoing recruitment and staffing.
The Garda Trainee allowance has almost doubled since 2023 from €184 to €354 per week. The most recent increase from €305 to €354 took effect on 1 October 2024.
The Programme for Government commits to increasing the training allowance and I am committed to keeping the allowance under review in the context of our targets for Garda recruitment. While any decision to increase the allowance will be a matter to be considered as part of the Estimates process, I expect that the allowance will increase over the lifetime of the Government.
It is worth highlighting however, that for the first time ever, there were two Garda recruitment competitions held last year. There was significant interest in both competitions, with over 11,000 people applying to join An Garda Síochána this year. This demonstrates that there is a strong and sustained interest in a career as a Garda amongst the public.
It is clear that recruitment into An Garda Síochána is now gathering real momentum. I was delighted to see that almost 800 Gardaí enter Templemore last year, the highest number since 2018 and I am looking forward to seeing this momentum maintained into this year.