Garda numbers dip again in November, report shows
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Garda numbers dipped again last November, continuing a trend throughout 2024 of the strength of the force struggling to push past the 14,000 mark and towards a long-running target of 15,000 members.
The Garda Commissioner’s monthly report shows there were 14,054 gardaí, at all ranks, as of November 30, 2024.
This includes 11,162 members at the frontline rank of garda.
It reflects a minimal increase during the year, and compares to 13,960 (11,135 garda rank) last January. The strength fluctuated above and below the 14,000 figure throughout 2024.
A new batch of 169 sworn members left Templemore College on December 13, bringing numbers to 14,220.
The figure for the end of December is not yet available and will include retirements and resignations, bringing the number down back closer to 14,100 or so.
The report said 224 gardaí had retired by the end of November (compared to 319 for all of 2023) and a further 130 gardaí had resigned (171 for all of 2023).
A separate report published by the Policing Authority just before Christmas said it did not expect garda numbers to increase much over the coming years.
“The authority is aware that the current rate of intake of trainees to the Garda College is likely to be mostly off-set through resignations and retirements in the coming years,” it said.
“To overcome this anticipated drop in membership and expand its numbers in line with Government desire to invest in more gardaí, the Garda Síochána needs to recruit and train significantly more new members every year over the next decade.”
It said in the first half of 2024, 127 members were attested, and that two intakes (totalling 292 trainees) entered the Garda College, with two more intakes in the second half of the year.
Garda HQ said last month 277 recruits were currently in the college.
The authority report said recruitment campaigns in 2022, 2023 and 2024 had so far resulted in almost 1,200 trainees entering the Garda College, and said the selection and vetting processes from the most recent campaigns remained ongoing.
It said the authority welcomed the development of a recruitment and retention strategy, and the introduction of exit interviews, to understand the motivations of those leaving the service, as well as the 66% increase in the Garda training allowance, the increase in the upper age of entry for Garda members from 35 to 50 and the recently-announced extension of the compulsory retirement age from 60 to 62.
“However, the authority is concerned that it is unlikely that the organisation will reach the approved level of 15,000 Garda members set in 2016. The original target was to achieve this by the end of 2021, before the closure of the Garda College during covid-19.
“Furthermore, recently, the Garda Commissioner reported to an Oireachtas committee that 15,000 members would not be enough to meet all the demands being made on the organisation.”
It said the “main challenge” facing the organisation was the ability to recruit and retain members, as well as civilian staff, in the numbers and pace required to grow the force.
Garda recruitment pledges featured strongly in the general election manifestos of most political parties, with Fine Gael promising 6,000 recruits over the next five years, compared to 5,000 for Fianna Fail.