Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
163. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of recruits he expects to graduate at the next passing out ceremony in the Garda College in Templemore; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6199/26]
View answerGetting more Gardaí onto our streets to prevent and detect crime is my first priority as Minister.
The Programme for Government commits to examining a range of further measures to enable An Garda Síochána to recruit 5,000 members across the next five years. 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 to support recruitment and staffing.
The provision of training and Garda recruitment is an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner but I can inform the Deputy that the next group of Garda trainees are due to complete their training at the Garda College shortly and will attest in the first week of February 2026. The group due to attest are Intake 252, who entered the Garda College in June 2025. The numbers to attest are being finalised taking into account finalisation of assessment processes.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that work is also underway on finalising the next intake to the Garda College which is also planned for February.
At the end of November, the total Garda personnel strength stood at over 18,200, which included 14,462 Gardaí, 3,486 Garda Staff, and 308 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.
For the first time ever, there were two Garda recruitment competitions held last year. There was significant interest in both competitions, with over 11,100 people applying to join An Garda Síochána in 2025. 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 just under 800 Gardaí enter Templemore last year, the highest number since 2018 and I am looking forward to seeing this momentum carry on to this year.
We need to build on these successes. We need to see more Gardaí in our cities, towns and villages. I will continue to work with the Garda Commissioner to maintain this increased rate of recruitment and, indeed, build on it.
