Garda Commissioner expects 200 fewer recruits than Government target of 1,000

Garda associations have said that reduced police presence in communities has placed them at additional risk of dealing with potentially violent situations

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris at the Garda Training College in Templemore in May for the Passing Out Parade for new garda recruits. Just 24 students were taken in up to this November. File photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said he hopes to recruit 800 garda students in 2023, some 200 short of the Government target of 1,000.

After a very poor year for recruitment in 2022 – with only 116 trainees taken into Templemore College out of a target of 800 – the comments from the Garda chief indicate the 1,000 target may not be met in 2023.