Paul Donnelly
Ceist:204. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on Garda numbers, new recruits and any retention strategies that are in place in the force. [6165/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 27 January 2026
Ceisteanna (204)
Freagraí scríofa
Getting more Gardaí on our streets to prevent and detect crime remains my priority as Minister. This Government is fully committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs, with Budget 2026 providing unprecedented funding of €2.74 billion to support recruitment, training and staffing.
At the end of November 2025, the latest date for which figures are available, the total Garda workforce stood at over 18,200, which included 14,462 Gardaí, 3,486 Garda Staff, and 308 Reserves.
Recruitment into An Garda Síochána is now gathering real momentum and interest in a career as a Garda remains high, with over 11,000 applications received last year. Overall, I am informed by the Garda authorities that just under 800 trainees entered the Garda College in 2025, the highest number since 2018.
This demonstrates that there is a strong and sustained interest in a career as a Garda amongst the public and further recruitment competitions will be run, as required, to ensure that there is a steady pipeline of new recruits ready to enter the Garda College.
There will be four intakes to the Garda College in 2026 and intake numbers will also be supported by ongoing capacity expansion works at the College.
Significant measures have been made to boost recruitment and retention in recent years 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 the interest of transparency, information in relation to the allocation of Gardaí by Division, Station and rank, is publicly available and can be found at the following link:
www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/human-resources-and-people-development/garda-hr-directorate/garda-strength-breakdown-2025/
The Deputy should select the most recent month and access the file titled “Garda Members by Division District Station 2009 to the most recent date” for a breakdown of total Garda numbers by Garda station going back to 2009.
To find the information in relation to the allocation of Probationer Gardaí by Division and Station, The Deputy should access the file titled “Allocation of Probationer Gardaí by Division and Station 2015 to the most recent date” for a breakdown of total Probationer Garda numbers by Garda station going back to 2015.
The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution and stationing of Garda personnel throughout the State under Section 33 of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.