by Louise Doyle

SEVEN gardaí from Donegal Division have resigned from duty over a three-year period to date this year, we can reveal.

Figures released to this newspaper through a request under the Freedom of Information Act show seven gardaí have resigned from Donegal Division since 2023.

A breakdown of the figures reveal two gardaí have resigned from Donegal Division in 2025 to date, according to the figures.

Three gardaí resigned in 2024, while two resignations from Donegal Division occurred in 2023. There were no resignations in 2022, according to the figures.

We also asked for a breakdown of reasons for the  garda resignations, the ages of gardaí at resignation, to include those under the ages of 30, those aged 40, 50 and 60 years, and those over the age of 60, as well as their gender.

But this aspect of the FOI was not granted, with a spokesperson adding that providing this detail was not in the public interest.

“A public interest test was carried out when considering the release of personal information but having balanced the factors both for and against the release, I decided that the public interest in preserving the personal information and the reasonable expectation that information can be maintained in a confidential manner by An Garda Síochána outweighs the public interest which would be served were the records released to you,” said a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána.

Nationally, a total of 400 gardaí have left the service within five years of joining across the span of the last decade. The highest numbers left in the years 2023 and 2024, with 68 and 65 gardaí leaving, respectively, according to figures obtained by Meath TD and Aontú leader Peadar Toíbín in May.

The figures are largely accounted for by resignations, but the Department of Justice states they also include small numbers of dismissals and deaths in service.

Mr Toíbín pointed to ‘low morale’ and ‘insufficient pay conditions exacerbated by the cost of living crisis’ as some of the reasons for resignations. An Garda Síochána has said its level of resignations is far below those experienced by UK police services, which is approximately 10 per cent.

But in April of this year, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) warned the organisation feared a “mass exodus” from the force due to retirements expected over the coming years.

Ronan Clogher, general secretary of the AGSI, outlined how the force had 141 recruits graduate on March 2, but added that 109 gardaí had been lost through retirements and resignations in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2025.

He attributed pay and harassment on social media as some of the reasons why the job is no longer seen as an attractive option to many.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has said it is his ambition to ensure more recruitment of gardaí.