An increase in the garda training allowance is unlikely to make any difference in the recruitment of gardaí, according to the Garda Representative Association.
GRA General Secretary Ronan Slevin said campaigns over the last number of years have not resulted in attracting more people to the force, while the number of resignations and retirements has nearly matched the number of new recruits.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that what is being offered as a trainee allowance is still €4 below the hourly minimum wage.
Being a garda is a worthwhile career, he said, but no one is going to make it their career unless there is a financial reward.
Mr Slevin said here is currently nearly full employment in Ireland and it is hard to encourage people to leave other forms of employment.
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"If you're bringing people into this job from other forms of employment, they are more than likely going to have a partner, children and already financial commitments in terms of car purchases, mortgage purchases."
He said gardaí are deployed for ten weeks of training and said that during this time, their food and accommodation is not paid for.
However, there is no change to their training allowance during this time, he added.
The Taoiseach said a huge body of work is ongoing to recruit gardaí and the increase in the garda retirement age is retaining more people in An Garda Síochána.
Speaking on the same programme, Simon Harris said the training college at Templemore is full and that he is confident that "we have taken a number of measures in recent weeks to help with garda recruitment and retention and we will take more".
