The first recruitment of gardaí in more than five years will take place next year.

But the Justice Minister says he cannot say just yet how many new recruits will be taken in.

A ban on hiring new officers has been in place since 2009 as part of a moratorium in the public sector.

Alan Shatter says that will be determined by a calculation of retirements so that the number of officers does not fall below 13,000.

Mr. Shatter said back in July that this was "very important for an organisation like An Garda Síochána, given the demanding nature of policing, to receive a reasonably regular intake of new recruits".

Speaking today, the Minister told the Dáil he expects the demand to be a garda to be significant going by expressions of interest.