Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Pa Daly TD, has commented on his visit to the Garda Training College at Templemore. Teachta Daly was visiting as part of a Justice committee delegation.

Teachta Daly said:

“The college is an impressive facility and the staff are clearly very dedicated and professional. Giving graduates a solid grounding in policing work and the values of An Garda Síochána is their primary focus. Ethics, Human Rights and community safety are interwoven in the over 150 courses in Templemore. 

“We were given a full tour and an explanation of how training works. The staff were keen to emphasise, contrary to comments by at least one Minister, that the college continued to operate during the pandemic. It was not closed.

“The visit brought home the importance of getting Garda trainee numbers back towards pre-pandemic levels. When Commissioner Harris was in front of the Justice Committee earlier, he said 714 trainees should pass through the college for the year 2023.

“Sinn Féin will continue to call for continued action in recruitment and retention, more recruitment in our new communities and establishment of a retention taskforce to report back within weeks on challenges faced although we noted that some work is currently taking place. 

“The college also needs extra facilities to address the backlog in driving courses and also needs a tactical training facility and we have written to the Minister to address these issues.”