Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Matt Carthy TD, today challenged the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan on the lack of Gardaí available to police communities.
Speaking during a Dáil debate on community safety and justice, Deputy Carthy said that additional training places need to be put in place to deliver a force of 16,000 Gardaí.
Teachta Carthy said:
“There is a clear and ongoing issue regarding Garda numbers and Garda visibility.
“When Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael took office in June 2020, Garda numbers stood at 14,700. At the end of December 2024 the Garda strength was at 14,191, a drop of 3.5% over that period.
“In the same time period, the population of the state rose from 4.95m to 5.38m, an increase of 9%.
“The lack of Gardai and the lack of Garda visibility has serious consequences. It impacts on people’s sense of safety, on deterrence and on crime prevention.
“Yesterday we saw CSO figures showing increases in a range of crimes, particularly burglaries. including violent burglaries, and theft.
“While the CSO figures are useful there is a need to get a more complete picture of the level of crime being experienced given that all incidences of crime are not reported.
“I would like to ask the Minister if he will consider introducing an annual victim survey along the lines of the Crime Survey of England and Wales, which records all types of crimes experienced by people, including those crimes that may not have been reported to An Garda Síochána?
“There is also a serious lack of community Gardaí, crucial for policing with the community and building local trust and confidence in An Garda Síochána. These are the Gardaí who will know their community, know what is going on and also identify when young people are becoming involved in crime. Increasing the number of community Gardaí is something I particularly want to see the Minister address.
“The intake capacity for Garda training must be increased. It is clear that additional training places will need to be put in place to deliver the numbers required. Sinn Féin believes we should be aiming for 16,000 Gardaí.”
