Gardaí need 'significantly more' recruits to offset retirements from force, report finds

Report said garda numbers stood at 14,100 last June, far off the Government's pre-covid target of 15,000. File picture: Colin Keegan/ Collins

An Garda Síochána needs “significantly more” gardaí to be recruited and trained every year over the next decade, as expected retirement numbers are predicted to “fall off a cliff” in the next five years, the Policing Authority has warned.

It also said while more resources had led to significant improvements in examining digital devices for child sexual abuse and other crimes, the lack of similar funding had resulted in “little progress” in combating economic crimes.

In an assessment report for the first half of the year, the authority also said:

• Reports of sexual crime to gardaí in Dublin have fallen since 2022, but disclosures of sexual crime to Dublin Rape Crisis Centre increased;
• Inconsistencies between Garda divisions on the mandatory seven-day call-back for victims of domestic violence “must be addressed”;
• The length of garda suspensions continues to cause concern, with 25 of the 92 cases on hand by June 2024 being four to six years old and 43 two to three years old — affecting garda wellbeing and resources;
• More progress “could, and should, have been made” in introducing vetting of gardaí during their careers to protect vulnerable people gardaí are dealing with;
• New 30-minutes of high-visibility roads policing per garda shift has led to a 12% increase in lifesaver detections and a new ‘check insurance’ app on garda mobile devices has resulted in a 74% jump in vehicles being seized. 

The report said garda numbers stood at 14,100 last June, far off the Government's pre-covid target of 15,000.

The authority is aware that the current rate of intake of trainees to the Garda College is likely to be mostly offset through resignations and retirements in the coming years. The Garda Síochána needs to recruit and train significantly more new members every year over the next decade.

It added: “Expected retirement numbers are predicted to ‘fall off a cliff’ within the next five years, due to mandatory retirement, combined with accelerated recruitment in the late 1990s and early 2000s.” 

The report said available garda resources were being impacted by the number of members on long term sick leave, highlighting one division reporting they are “currently having 23% of its members out on long term sick leave”.

The resourcing problem was reflected in the use of overtime, with the authority saying it was due to exceed €200m in 2024, in contrast to the allocation of €132m.

It said increased resources for the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau had resulted in the caseload of digital devices to be examined “falling to a four-year low of 217 in March 2024”.

In contrast, it said there has been “little progress” in boosting funding and resources for the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.

It said Garda HQ only submitted a resourcing plan in the second quarter of 2024, which was “three years overdue”.

The authority said the reporting of sexual crimes to gardaí by victims fell from 82 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 68 in 2024.

It said this was at a time the number of new disclosures of sexual violence to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre went from about 280 in 2022 to 310 in 2023.