123. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice his plans to increase the training intake capacity for An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12801/25]

Sentiment score: 0.23

Further to the previous debate, I hope the Minister will accept what I consider to be an absolute fact and that is we now have a clear and ongoing crisis in respect of Garda numbers and in particular Garda visibility within our communities. That crisis will not be addressed unless we substantially increase the training uptake capacity for An Garda Síochána. What measures does the Minister intend to apply in order to achieve this?

Sentiment score: 0.12

It absolutely is. A career in An Garda Síochána has the potential to be a very fulfilling life experience. However, the difficulty is not people applying to join An Garda Síochána but, with due respect to the Minister, it is the intake capacity and the experience of some people who apply but who do not make it into Templemore - in other words, they have a negative experience which they convey to others that would in time prevent them from following suit. Some 750 recruits left Templemore in 2023. Last year, 2024, the number was 631. The strength of the force at the end of 2024 was just about 14,000 which is only 200 more than at the start of the year and 500 less than when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael formally came into government in 2020. I note that in recent weeks the Commissioner said that it will not be possible to meet the Government goal of 1,000 new members this year and it is likely to be as low as 800. The Minister is on record as saying that he wants to see an additional 5,000 gardaí by the end of this Dáil term. It is incumbent on him to say, given the current parameters, how the hell he is going to make that happen.

Sentiment score: -0.05

Government representatives have increasingly cited the increase in population as a rationale behind the increase in crime figures. For example, earlier this morning the Minister cited it as an explanation for the increase in the number of people offending while out on bail. Yet, we have a Government target that has 15,000 members of An Garda Síochána, a target that is nowhere near being met at the moment. Surely the Minister accepts that target is not enough considering the increase in population and what are very clear demands from communities all over the State, who do not see enough gardaí within their communities at present. At some point, will the Minister give the Dáil a comprehensive report and update on the work of the Garda recruitment training capacity planning group? He mentioned some aspects of potentially expanding Templemore or changing the way it functions but have there been any real deliberations in terms of the potential of opening a second Garda training college? That is something that I think would be very appropriate and much needed.

Sentiment score: 0.14

We need to be clear. The previous Minister for Justice committed to ensuring that there would be at least one refuge in every county. In January, Cuan confirmed to me what the Minister has repeated here, namely that rather than delivering one refuge in both Cavan and Monaghan, the plan has changed to one centre between the two counties. That is not good enough, particularly when we consider the circumstances that would lead somebody needing to enter a domestic violence refuge. If a person lives in Carrickmacross and the centre is in Belturbet, the distance between the two is 67 km. That is further than the distance from this House to Navan. That is not acceptable, particularly in view of the disruption that arises in the context of school life. The two counties we are talking about have virtually no interconnectivity in terms of public transport. This must be taken into consideration in light of, as I say, the emergency situations in which people may find themselves. Will the Minister revert to the commitment given by his predecessor not to deliver a centre for between Cavan and Monaghan, which is taking far too long, but, rather, to deliver one for Cavan and one for Monaghan? The latter is the minimum that is required.

Sentiment score: -0.06

The commitment was already given.

Sentiment score: 0.38