The Justice Minister has signaled that he may be about to recruit gardaí for the first time since 2009.

It is because the numbers of gardaí retiring is larger than expected and no garda has graduated since April 2011.

Alan Shatter says he does not want the force to fall below 13,000 which could now happen before the end of this year.

Follows garda station closures

Almost 100 garda stations right around the country are closed their doors at the end of January.

Fianna Fail had called on the government to reverse its decision.

The government announced the move last year but it had been previously thought that the closures would be spread out over a longer period.

Some 2,000 people protested in the Justice Minister Alan Shatter's own constituency of Stepaside on Sunday over the closure of the station there.

Minister Shatter says he plans to bring proposals to government in the coming weeks.