Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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47. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost in 2017 of recruiting an additional 700 gardaí. [23587/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Garda authorities that payroll costs for new Garda recruits include a basic allowance of €184 per week plus a living allowance of €77.92. After 32 weeks of training, Garda recruits are attested and move on to the first point of the Garda pay scale €23,750 rising to a maximum of €45,793 per annum after 19 years. They may also qualify for other allowances depending on their assignments.

Based on the above figures, the year one cost of increasing the strength of the force by 700 (assuming a commencement date of 1 January) is approximately €13.4 million. It should be noted that these costs reflect the pre and post attestation payroll costs for the first year. These figures include Employer's PRSI but exclude any allowances which the recruits may qualify for following attestation. Moreover the annual cost will obviously increase as the members move up the Garda pay scale each year.

I am further advised that the cost of training recruits is subsumed into the overall training costs of the Garda College and is not easily identifiable. However, the total cost of running the Garda College in 2015 was approximately €19m, which includes the salary costs of all College personnel.