The Garda Representative Association (GRA) are set to tell the Joint Committee on Justice that a “record number” of Gardaí are leaving the force this year.

The Joint Committee for Engagement on Policing Matters will meet in Leinster House later today at 4pm.

As well as hearing from GRA, the Committee will hear from the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, and retired Garda Sergeant Anthony Gallagher.

In its opening statement, the GRA is set to explain to the committee that it expects at least 150 gardaí to leave the force this year, with 116 members having resigned already. Within the space of a month, ten gardaí announced their departure.

Last year 107 garda members left the force.

Committee Cathaoirleach James Lawless spoke ahead of today's meeting saying that the Committee is “very aware of the impact that crime continues to have on society in Ireland”.

He believes that the meeting will be an opportunity to hear from a number of key stakeholders in relation to challenges regarding recruitment and retention in the gardaí, as well as general morale within the force.

The Committee is also set to discuss policing in Dublin City and policing of protests.

Ronan Slevin, the general secretary of the GRA, says the dwindling number of gardaí is due to a combination of a lack of recognition, poor pension entitlements for new recruits, workload, and an unfair disciplinary process “all contribute to the disillusionment of the modern Garda”.

Slevin believes that an increase in the training allowance from €184 to €305 “will do little or nothing to attract the most suitably qualified candidates for a career in An Garda Síochána”.

He is also going to explain to the committee that new trainee numbers are set to fall “woefully short,” with just over 600 trainees this year as opposed to the target of 1,000.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors will tell the Committee that it is “clear” that young people do not view joining the force “as an attractive career option”, adding: “An Garda Síochána throughout its one-hundred-year history has never experienced such a difficult recruitment environment, even in the midst of the Celtic Tiger when there were similar full employment figures.”

The AGSI blames new pension regulations, a lack of affordable housing in major urban areas, retention issues, “excessive Bureaucratic procedures” and a “misuse of social media at almost every public interaction gardaí are now involved in” for the reduction in numbers.

Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association Ireland, will also speak to the Committee on the impact crime and anti-social behaviour has on restaurants, pubs and cafes.

He will highlight the need for “increased Garda visibility on the streets of Dublin”, a “zero-tolerance policy towards the public sale and consumption of illegal drugs”, as well as measures to tackle the “well-documented taxi shortages and a lack of reliable public transport options”.