Nearly half of all gardaí can retire in next f ive years
Minister’s pledge to boost force numbers in doubt as recruitment crisis deepens amid morale issues
STARK new figures showing almost half of all serving gardaí are eligible to retire from the force within the next five years have cast serious doubts over the Government’s promise to boost garda numbers.
Figures obtained by the Irish Mail on Sunday show more than 6,400 of the current 14,000 gardaí (45%) could leave on age grounds by 2028 amid fears the recruitment and retention crisis engulfing An Garda Síochána will continue for many years to come.
Numbers do not include the unprecedented number of gardaí who have resigned from the force in recent years, with a record 169 gardaí leaving last year. The huge number of gardaí eligible for retirement has thrown the Coalition’s plans to bolster the force to 15,000 officers into doubt.
Figures provided by Justice Minister Helen McEntee show 6,417 serving officers will be eligible to retire over the next five years.
It comes as informed sources this weekend said gardaí ‘who can, are retiring’ as serious morale issues continue to plague the force.
A source told the MoS: ‘It’s head down to retirement for a lot of gardaí right now, morale is a big issue and a lot of members have had enough.’
The garda retirement eligibility figures were provided in response to parliamentary queries from Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan. Minister McEntee said the ‘retirement of members of An Garda Síochána is governed by law, which sets the mandatory retirement age for all members at 60 years of age’.
She said: ‘Members of An Garda Síochána who joined prior to April 1, 2004 may retire on full pension at 50 years of age once they have served at least 30 years.
‘Those who joined on or after April 1, 2004 may retire on full pension at 55 years of age with 30 years of service.’
She added: ‘Gardaí have the option of continuing to serve until they reach 60, subject to the Garda Commissioner [Drew Harris] being satisfied that they are fully competent and available to undertake their duties.’
Minister McEntee also confirmed the number of officers who will qualify for retirement is set to dramatically rise from 722 this year, to 1,904 in 2028.
Commenting on the figures, Jim O’Callaghan said they ‘reveal how challenging it will be to retain numbers at an adequate level’ in the force over the next five years.
The Dublin Bay South TD told the MoS: ‘We need to recognise that the number of potential retirements over the next five years means training capacity in Templemore
challenging:
Jim O’Callaghan TD must be increased. We also need to target actively the Garda Reserve for membership of the force.’ Earlier this week Minister McEntee announced a new recruitment drive to bring the Garda Reserve up to 1,000 members by 2026 following a significant drop in numbers in recent years.
In her response to Mr O’Callaghan, Ms McEntee said she is advised ‘by the Garda authorities that projected departures are kept under continuous review and that the level of recruitment is adjusted as necessary in order to maintain the desired strength’.
The Minister also pointed out that, at the end of December 2023, ‘there were just under 14,000 gardaí, which represents an increase of around 9% since 2015 when there were 12,816 gardaí throughout the country.’
However, garda numbers declined last year, despite a major recruitment programme as the pace of retirements and resignations outstripped the number of new officers graduating from the Garda College in Templemore.
The net fall in the overall strength of the force was 135; down from 14,133 members at the start of 2023 to 13,998 by year end.
When it comes to gardaí who choose not to retire, 62 extensions of service in the force were granted last year. This compared with 54 in the previous two years combined.
The strength of An Garda Síochána peaked at an all-time high of 14,750 in spring 2020. But when the Garda College was forced to close
‘A lot of members have had enough’
‘The reality is we are staring into a crisis’
due to Covid-19, recruitment was halted and numbers gradually declined below 14,000.
Ms McEntee said: ‘The number of recruits in the Garda Training College continue to increase, with a total of 746 trainees having entered Templemore in 2023, the highest intake in any year since 2018.’
The Minister added a total of ‘6,400 applications were received’ for the latest garda recruitment competition, which ran from January 15 to February 8.
However, Ms McEntee’s optimism was countered by one senior security source. The insider warned: ‘The reality is we are staring into a crisis.
‘Do the maths; a minimum of 6,500 gardaí are scheduled to go, and there is a tide of gardaí leaving prior to their due date.
They added: ‘Nine hundred a year will not fill that gap.’