I wish to raise the issue of Garda numbers in Drogheda, Ireland's largest town. It was promised a special focus and increased and bolstered Garda resources following the brutal feud that took place there. There was nothing that the Government was not promising in the aftermath of it. However, an internal Garda submission late last year outlined that regular uniformed policing numbers had been slashed by 21, from 59 down to 38. It was also stated that, on a daily basis, it is now accepted that there will not be a garda on the beat. These were the Garda's own words. On the "Michael Reade Show" on LMFM recently, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, said that she does not actually accept that there are no gardaí on the beat. In fact, she said that it is absolutely not true to say that there were no gardaí on the beat. Which is it? Is the Minister saying the Garda authorities are not being truthful? Is she saying that they do not know what they are talking about? Is she saying that she has her finger on the pulse and that she knows more than they do in their own district?

I thank the Deputy.

Is it the case that the Government has no intention of bolstering Garda resources in Drogheda as it said it would?

I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

Is it just another broken promise conning people?

Deputy, please, the time is up.

Which is it?

The Government is very committed to expanding Garda numbers all over the country, including in Drogheda. During Covid-19, with the closure of Templemore training college, there was a reduction in the number of gardaí coming through. The most recent Garda recruitment campaign, though, which ran in January and February of this year, has received a very strong response, with over 6,300 people applying to become a garda. This is a significant increase on the 5,000 people who applied last year.

We are down 21 gardaí in Drogheda.

It is great to see so many people wanting to join An Garda Síochána, especially among people aged 35 to 50. We are determined to ensure that An Garda Síochána will grow to 15,000 members.

The question was whether the Government has broken its promise.

That complement will then enable us to increase the numbers of gardaí in towns like Drogheda. That is the commitment. We are going to increase the number of gardaí but we have to recruit them and get them trained first.