Second Garda college needed for Dublin, says Sherlock

Labour TD for Dublin Central Marie Sherlock has called on the government to open a second Garda college in Dublin.

The Labour TD has said that a second Garda college should be based in Dublin to address the serious shortage and retention issue in Dublin City.

Sherlock said “Budget 2026 committed to recruiting another much needed 1000 gardaí. The government commissioned an independent working group to see if this is possible. It is not, and now another report is needed on whether a second college is needed.”

“It is crazy that this decision has been kicked down the road. We do not need another working group to tell us what we already know.”

“Crucially, we believe it needs to be based in Dublin to address the serious shortage and retention crisis in Dublin. The lack of affordable accommodation and pay for certain ranks means that it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain Gardaí in the capital who were reared outside of it.

Sherlock said that “Gardaí are simply struggling to keep numbers up in the Capital. There are just 3808 Gardaí serving divisions across Dublin as of August 2025. That is compared with 3,944 in 2020 and 4,160 in 2010.”

“The government missed their targets to recruit 1000 Gardaí last year and intend on hiring the same number next year. The Minister for Justice must leave no stone unturned to attract more people into the force.”

“If we want to attract more people to join the force and work as Gardaí in the capital, then we need to have a second Garda College in the capital. There used to be a Garda training college in Phoenix Park which was closed in the 1960’s. Bringing a training centre back to Dublin will do much to attract more Gardaí from Dublin and allow people to train in their home city.”