A working group formed to examine how to boost garda recruitment has concluded that the Garda College does not currently have the capacity to train 1,000 new gardaà annually, reports RTE.
The Recruitment Training Capacity group had also been expected to decide on the potential establishment of a second Garda Training College. However, it instead advised that a new working group be created to explore that option further.
In this year’s Budget, the Government has set aside €77 million to hire an additional 1,000 gardaà in 2026. However, it did not meet the same target in the previous year.
An extra €19 million has also been allocated for garda overtime, reports RTE.
Despite ongoing advertising and recruitment efforts, public calls for more gardaÃ, and the fact that thousands express interest in joining, the Government’s goal of recruiting 1,000 new gardaà annually has repeatedly fallen short.
Only up to 750 gardaà will be recruited this year, with the final intake entering the Garda College in Templemore this November.
The Government launched a working group to uncover the reasons behind these shortfalls and to recommend solutions, reports RTE.
That group has now confirmed that the current Garda College cannot handle 1,000 recruits per year, and while steps are being taken to expand its capacity, “further work is required.”
The An Garda SÃochána Recruitment Training Capacity Group said that recruiting 5,000 gardaà over five years is “achievable” but also “challenging”, reports RTE.
Still, the report notes that such a target would demand consistent intakes of 200 to 250 recruits — “a level that has not been achieved in recent years”.
According to the group, the Garda College is “operating at near full capacity, currently in the range of 800-900 trainees per annum”, and An Garda SÃochána has highlighted that “there are currently constraints both in terms of the teaching, classroom and accommodation capacity of the College,” reports RTE.
Efforts are currently underway to upgrade Templemore so it can accommodate up to 250 recruits per intake.
The working group was also instructed to evaluate whether a second Garda Training College should be created. However, it has recommended to the Minister for Justice that a separate working group be established to assess the matter, with a report due by July next year, reports RTE.
Top Garda officials, including former Commissioner Drew Harris, have repeatedly stated that while they do not need a second college for new recruits, they do require a second facility for training in firearms, driving, and promotional development.
Roughly 200 serving gardaà are now using spaces in Templemore for internal training courses. These could be reassigned to new recruits if a separate facility were provided for in-service training, reports RTE.
With around 1,650 gardaà expected to be eligible for retirement over the next five years, the report states that “it is reasonable to assume” overall garda numbers could rise above 15,000 by mid to late 2027, and reach 16,000 by 2029 — “assuming intakes in the region of 1,000 to 1,250 in future years.”
The report also emphasises that “achieving the targets will continue to require a relentless focus by AGS and publicjobs.ie to ensure that the pipeline remains strong and that those candidates who pass the publicjobs.ie process actually convert into trainees quickly,” reports RTE.
Ronan Slevin, General Secretary of the Garda Representative Association, stated that the GRA’s “clear position” is that there is currently enough capacity at Templemore to train 1,000 recruits annually — provided those numbers are actually delivered.
“This may require some additional local external accommodation which has been provided in the past, such as was the case during accelerated recruitment campaigns in the early 2000s, so this is indeed possible. We would have been very happy to put these points to this Working Group had we been allowed to participate or even consulted but sadly that was not the case. Once again the voice of the GRA was ignored while policing reports were compiled and published without proper consultation with the very members who have first hand experience coming through garda college,” he said, reports RTE.
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