Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Pa Daly TD, has slammed Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for failing to address plummeting morale in An Garda Siochána.

Commenting on events last night in Kilmainham in which two unarmed plain clothes Garda foiled an armed robbery yesterday evening, Teachta Daly said:

“A man has been arrested following an attempted armed robbery of a retail premises on Military Road, Dublin on Wednesday. Two unarmed, plain-clothes Garda on their break were in the shop at the time.

“Their actions demonstrate that An Garda Síochána serve us well.

“Despite this, there is no denying the well documented problems that plague the Gardaí continue.

“There are severe capacity constraints and, as a result, morale remains at an all-time low.

“For example, the number of resignations of Gardaí in Kerry doubled between 2020 and 2024 according to an answer to a parliamentary question I received today.

“Disappointingly, the draft Programme for Government contains very little in the way of real solutions.

“They only committed to ‘consider’ a second Garda training college at Templemore.

“What good is ‘considering’ something indefinitely when it is needed urgently?

“The reality is that this government simply wants to kick the can down the road for as long as they can get away with.

“As Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, I have made repeated calls on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to address the crisis in Garda recruitment and retention by establishing a second training college in Templemore.

“You cannot expect Garda numbers to increase if the cap to train new guards remains at 800.

“As a result, morale and capacity will remain stunted. These problems are not going to be solved by lofty rhetoric that is devoid of any concrete action.

“Both the Gardaí and local communities deserve a government that is willing to take decisive action.”