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10 Dec 2025
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10 Dec 2025
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Cllr McMonagle has criticised new low Garda numbers in Donegal
The number of new gardaí in Donegal was “totally inadequate,” said Cllr Gerry McMonagle, after only two new Garda recruits were allocated to Donegal.
Cllr Gerry McMonagle of Sinn Féin, and a former Chairperson of the Joint Policing Committee, was speaking following the attestation of new members of An Garda SÍochána on June 6.
An Garda Síochána confirmed the attestation of 120 Garda members nationally, however, only two members will be working in Donegal.
The low number of new Garda members in Donegal comes after only six Garda members were allocated to Donegal in 2024, which Cllr McMonagle criticised at the time as being on “the lower end of allocations despite having such a large geographical area.”
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Within the North Western Region, of which Donegal is a part along with Sligo and Leitrim, 18 new Garda members were allocated to the region. 74 will be working in the Dublin Region, 17 in the Eastern Region, and 11 in the Southern Region.
Cllr McMonagle criticised the low number of new Garda members in Donegal. He was not able to confirm how many Garda members had left An Garda Síochána in Donegal in the previous 12 months.
He said: “Two probationaries for Donegal is totally inadequate, especially for the size of the county and then the number of Gardaí needed, with the land border and the sea border, and that we are trying to establish community policing units around the county.
“We need to get the number of recruits substantially increased.
“Anecdotally, I would say there were more people retiring than we had roles filled. I have seen a lot of messages of best wishes.”
Out of the 120 recruits, 89 were male and 31 were female. One probationer was a former reserve Garda, and 22 Gardaí were born outside the state including Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, England, India, Italy, Moldova, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and Northern Ireland.
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