'Turning of a corner': Cork to get 25 new gardaí but more called for

Cork has been allocated 25 new gardaí at the latest graduation from the Garda Training College in Templemore, with 20 going to the city and five to the county.

In the city, seven new Garda graduates are to be assigned to Anglesea Street Garda Station, five to Gurranabraher, and four each to Mayfield and Togher.

In the county, two graduates are going to Midleton, two to Mallow, and one to Bandon.

The attestation ceremony saw the graduation of 154 ‘probationers’ — sworn gardaí who must complete two years’ probation — of whom 132, or 79%, are male and 22 are female.

Speaking to The Echo, Taoiseach and Cork South Central TD Micheál Martin said he warmly welcomed the allocation of additional gardaí to Cork.

“As the numbers have ramped up in Templemore, more and more gardaí are being appointed,” he said.

“There was a focus on Dublin initially and the impact of that has been significant, and now this 20 will create momentum in Cork city.

“Hopefully, over time, we can add even more to that in the time ahead,” said the Taoiseach.

Last month, Mr Martin told this newspaper that he had engaged with justice minister Jim O’Callaghan and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, and he had been promised 20 probationers for Cork.

Between December 31, 2022, and May 31, 2025, the number of gardaí declined by 46 in the Cork City Division — to 663 — and by 43 in the Cork North and Cork West divisions — to 616.

In allocations in March and June of this year, Cork city received three probationers each time, while the county also received three on both allocations.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents the majority of garda rank-and-file officers, has repeatedly called for a greater allocation of resources to Cork.

Pádraig Harrington, GRA delegate for the Cork City Division, said the GRA was “delighted” at the news, but wanted to see the allocation repeated in subsequent graduations.

“We would like to see it replicated again in the next batch that are due out in November, and the next four or five batches that are due out,” he said.

“We would need to be getting 20 to 30 each time to bring the numbers back up to sufficient levels.

“Three or five coming to Cork city out of Templemore is useless, you’re not even touching the surface of problems.”

Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, said 20 gardaí was “a drop in the ocean” and not sufficient for Cork’s needs.

“The Government is trying to make this a good news story, but 20 isn’t going to keep up with the rate that we’re losing gardaí in the city,” he said. “We needed a minimum of 100 [new] gardaí.”

Séamus McGrath, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South Central, said that after recent “disappointing” allocations, the news represented “a turning of the corner” for Cork.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction, and we need to build on this into the future,” he said.

Colm Burke, Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central, said he was very happy to see more gardaí for Cork.

“A visible garda presence is central to the Government’s aim to build safe and secure communities,” he said.

The latest graduation brings the national garda strength to 14,408 sworn gardaí, while there are 3,672 garda staff members and 296 garda reserves.