Sinn Féin proposes €200 a week boost for Garda trainees and a 'rejoining bonus'

The party has also proposed introducing a €2,500 grant paid to gardaí who complete 30 years in the force, at an annual cost of €2.52m

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on justice, Matt Carthy, said: 'It is very possible the second Garda training college will be required into the future.' Photo: SAM BOAL/Collins Photos

Sinn Féin has proposed boosting the weekly Garda training allowance by over €200 as well as introducing a "rejoining bonus" and a long-term service award in a bid to address the Garda recruitment and retention crisis.

As reported by the Irish Examiner earlier this month, the Government is set to miss its Garda recruitment targets again this year by nearly 400. It is on track to recruit just 622 gardaí this year.

Most proposals in Sinn Féin’s plan are financial incentives. This includes increasing the weekly Garda training allowance from €354 a week to €579.15 from 2026 at an annual cost of €9m.

The party's justice spokesman Matt Carthy argued that because the maximum age of joining the Gardaí has increased from 35 to 50, older applicants could face a “very large drop off in income” when they already have commitments.

Sinn Féin has also suggested the introduction of a “return to policing incentive” that would see those who have been absent from the force for five years or more receive a €1,500 grant when they rejoin the Gardaí and another €1,500 when they complete their first year. This would cost €150,000 a year.

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In addition, the party has proposed introducing a €2,500 grant paid to gardaí who complete 30 years in the force, at an annual cost of €2.52m.

It has also called for the removal of points two and five of the Garda pay scale, meaning that Garda salaries would increase from €36,403 to €40,742 and from €43,224 to €49,415 after one and four years of service, respectively. This would add €2.6m to the annual wage bill.

Mr Carthy was forced to deny that Sinn Féin was reneging on its “pledge” from July to open a second Garda college, with its newly produced document stating that “while a second Garda college may be required in the medium to longer term, in the shorter term, increasing the annual output of trained gardaí will be best achieved by increasing the capacity at Templemore”.

Sinn Féin has suggested increasing the capacity at Templemore by 50 to 275 per intake.

Mr Carthy said: “We haven't changed position, but what we've said very clearly is that it needs to be taken into consideration.

“What we set out is that we are dealing with an immediate crisis, and the way in which we can deal with that crisis is by resolving to increase the number of intakes at Templemore.

“It is very possible the second Garda training college will be required into the future."