Government approve decision to increase retirement age of Gardaí, Defence Forces and Prison Officers

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee T.D, along with An Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin and the Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe T.D. have received Government approval to increase the mandatory retirement age in An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the Irish Prison Service.

The increased mandatory retirement age in the uniformed services will be facilitated by amendments to the relevant pension legislation to be brought forward by Minister Donohoe.

Speaking today, Minister McEntee said:

“This increase in the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 62 is just one measure I am taking to support An Garda Síochána, as this Government demonstrates its determination to build stronger, safer communities.

We know a strong An Garda Síochána is central to that and in order to keep it strong, it is important that we retain the knowledge and expertise of experienced people where possible. In addition, increasing the mandatory retirement age reflects the reality across all sectors that people can and want to work in their chosen careers for longer.

We are immensely grateful to our Gardaí and Prison Officers for their outstanding dedication and commitment to serving the public and for the vital role that they play in keeping people safe.

I will continue to engage with Minister Donohue and the Tánaiste over the coming weeks to support this legislation and we will continue to explore any additional measures to support recruitment into An Garda Síochána and all our uniformed services.”

Both Minister McEntee and the Garda Commissioner have said that An Garda Síochána should grow to 15,000 and beyond. To reach that target, Minister McEntee will continue to consider all additional measures to progress and enhance recruitment over the coming months.

Today’s decision follows from other recent changes introduced by Minister McEntee to ensure that An Garda Síochána have the resources they need to keep people safe. This includes a record Budget allocation of over €2.35 billion, increasing the maximum age of entry to 50 and boosting the training allowance by 66% to €305 per week. This year’s Garda recruitment competition also received almost 6,400 applications, a significant increase on the 5,000 applications last year.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The Minister for Public Expenditure will prepare legislation to amend the amendment to the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 and the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 to be included in a suitable legislative vehicle, with the accompanying changes required to sectoral (secondary) legislation to be advanced at the same time.

At present, 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.

Since 2020, the Minister for Justice has approved over 150 retirement extensions for Garda members at the request of the Garda Commissioner to work beyond the age of 60.

The Government is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs. The total gross allocation for the Garda Vote in 2024 is €2.31 billion, an increase of over €172 million on 2023, the highest ever Garda Budget.

The following steps are supporting the delivery of the Government’s objective to build the size of the force to 15,000, and beyond.

• Recruitment of between 800 - 1,000 Gardaí and 250 additional Garda staff this year.

• 25% increase in the overtime budget for An Garda Síochána – to €131 million from €105 million - for high visibility policing to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour

• Supporting Garda recruitment with 66% increase in training allowance which rises to €305 per week

• Approval of new Garda Reserve Regulations to commence a new Garda Reserve competition shortly, to reach 1,000 Garda Reserves by 1,000

• €6 million provided for Garda wellbeing initiatives, additional medical costs and over 2,500 units of body armour

• Regular engagement with An Garda Síochána to ensure that every possible support is in place to deliver on this level of recruitment.

• The most recent recruitment campaign attracted about 6,300 applications. A third of these applications were from the 35 – 49 age cohort.

• 746 trainee Gardaí entered Templemore across 2023 – this is the highest number to enter Templemore since 2018

The next intake to the Garda College is scheduled for 8 April 2024. Another 174 Garda Members are due to attest on 22 March 2024