267. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Justice the cost of increasing the size of the Garda reserve to 2,000 by 2028. [43780/24]

I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to providing An Garda Síochána, including the Garda Reserve, with the resources needed to Keep People Safe. This is reflected in the unprecedented allocation of €2.48 billion in Budget 2025. This represents a 27% increase in funding since 2020.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including the recruitment and training of Garda Reserve members, under section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended).

The Garda Reserve represents a real opportunity for anyone wishing to make a contribution to their community and, in some cases, learn more about the role of a Garda member prior to seeking to join An Garda Síochána full time. Reserves serve a very valuable role in assisting Gardaí with local patrols, crime reduction initiatives and administration.

There are currently around 325 Garda Reserves, as of the end of June 2024, and we have set a target of 1,000 Reserves by 2026. The Government is committed to working with the Garda Commissioner to achieve this goal.

A competition to recruit Garda Reserves opened in June, the first in many years. Garda Reserves play a vital role in their communities, and the revised regulations brought forward will allow them to contribute even more effectively. The Garda Reserve competition closed in early July and received over 1,800 applications.

To further support this competition, I was pleased to bring forward new regulations governing recruitment, training and deployment of the Reserve. I believe this also represents a great opportunity to broaden the recruitment pool for An Garda Síochána, particularly among communities which have not traditionally joined the service in large numbers.

To help support the work of Reserves, we have increased the maximum stipend a Reserve member receives for voluntary service in a given year from €1,000 to €3,000.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that to increase the Garda Reserve to a strength of 2,000 by 2028 would require an additional 1,677 Garda Reserves. The estimated additional annual cost would range between €838,500 to €5,031,000, depending on many factors including the amount of hours of service per Reserve.

Other potential costs such as expenses incurred by Garda Reserves are not included in this estimate.