Seven gardaí have been dismissed from their posts or have resigned in lieu of dismissal so far this year – more than in the previous three years combined.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said a garda and two probationer gardaí had been dismissed, and that four gardaí had resigned in lieu of dismissal.
This compared to five dismissals in the prior three years, which included two resignations in lieu of dismissal.
In response to Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn, the Minister said there were two dismissals last year, one being a garda and the other a probationer garda. There were three effective dismissals in 2024 and two resignations in lieu of dismissal. No dismissals were recorded in 2023.
The figures show that 12 gardaí have left the force so far this year due to a medical discharge, with 21 such cases recorded in each of the previous two years.
To date this year, 125 gardaí have retired voluntarily, with 204 retirements recorded in the whole of last year.
O’Callaghan told O’Flynn that 567 new gardaí had attested between January 1st and July 24th this year, with the “total sworn strength of An Garda Síochána” increasing from 14,425 to 14,725 during that period.
Crime reporting falls as public lose confidence in gardaí
The strength of the force increased this year by a net figure of 300, with 267 departures having happened during the same period through retirements, resignations, medical discharge and dismissals.
“Significant measures have been introduced to boost recruitment and retention, including increasing the Garda trainee allowance, increasing the age of entry from 35 to 50, and raising the mandatory retirement age to 62,” the Minister said.
In an attempt to boost recruitment, An Garda Síochána on Monday published a €4 million tender for a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for recruitment services. The contract runs for two years, with possible extensions for a further two years. The tender states that the Garda has an ambitious strategy to deliver additional permanent and specified purpose posts across all categories and grades of staff.
The tender states that these new posts will commence from the first quarter of next year, with a focus on early delivery of a large portion of the required additional staff to align with the recruitment plan. There is an overall requirement for up to an additional 600 newly recruited staff spanning all services, grades and disciplines, it notes.