Commissioner expects garda numbers to be close to 15,000 by the end of the year
Garda numbers are now over 14,600 and should be hitting the 15,000 mark by the end of the year, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has said.
The long-standing target of successive governments was derailed during the covid pandemic and the postponement of recruitment for several years.
Garda strength fell from a height of 14,750 in March 2020 to a low of 13,880 in September 2024. Numbers struggled, despite increased recruitment, to push passed 14,000 for most of 2025.
As numbers fell, the population of the country increased, from 4.98 million in 2020 to an 5.36 million in 2026 — a rise of 8%.
Speaking at the launch of a Garda recruitment drive, Mr Kelly said the force now stood at over 14,660 — and that another cohort of graduates were due later in the summer.
“We are around 14,600, so, certainly by the end of the year, we anticipate it should be around 15,000,” he said.
"We have challenges around numbers, but we are going in the right direction, towards 15,000, and onto 16,500.”
He accepted there was a greater range of policing demands and emerging threats, including in areas of cybercrime, fraud and national security.
Mr Kelly said: “Being a garda is a tough job and, at times, can be demanding. I know from personal experience how rewarding it can be. There are not many careers where you can make a positive difference to people and communities every single day.”
He appealed to people from all backgrounds to apply, saying it was important the organisation reflected the population.
The commissioner said there was a “variety of opportunities”, from regular policing to detective work, from cybercrime investigations to armed support and even the Garda band.
Members from the Dog Unit, Mounted Unit, Water Unit, Community Policing and the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, attended the event.
Asked about the verbal abuse and threats frontline gardaí receive, Mr Kelly said the online threat was increasing and that some of it was “appalling”, but stressed that gardaí will investigate those incidents and, if they reach the threshold of an offence, they push for prosecution.
He pointed out that they have secured successful prosecutions for threats against members, politicians and journalists.
“All those really difficult days that everyone has, there is a great spirit of camaraderie, you make great friends and there are great supports to help you," he said.
"The rewards in policing are absolutely fantastic. I’m 34 years in policing myself and when I see new recruits I often say I’d love to be starting all over again.”
Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said they were “consistently seeing 200 or more recruits” coming out of Templemore Garda College and that it reflected how “attractive” the job was.
“This competition will ensure that there is a strong pipeline of new recruits which will continue to increase the size of the Garda organisation,” he said.
The recruitment is open until June 3, 2026, via publicjobs.ie.
- Cormac O’Keeffe is the security correspondent of the
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