With membership of An Garda Síochána now reaching target levels, concerns have been raised that no new recruits will be hired into the force next year.

In 2004, then minister for justice Michael McDowell announced recruitment plans to ensure the force had 14,000 members by the end of 2008.

Since August, that objective has been reached and there are now more than a thousand student gardaí at different stages of training, said the Department of Justice.

Some 1,024 garda trainees were recruited in 2007 and 827 have so far begun training in Templemore this year – with another group of more than 250 due to begin training in November, according to the garda press office.

Michael O'Boyce, president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), said he had grave concerns there would be no garda recruitment at all next year – and that this would cause policing problems. "We are concerned there will be no recruitment at all in 2009.

"Historically, when there is high garda recruitment for four or five years, this is followed by a period when there's none whatsoever. We believe it should be a continuous and steady process," he told the Sunday Tribune.

"People retire and people are promoted and we think the best idea is to always have a steady flow of new recruits. It's the decision of the government of the day how many are to be recruited.

"We've raised our view previously with the minister for justice. We're calling on the garda commissioner to maintain continuous recruitment also," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said garda recruitment "will continue in line with government policy taking everything into account."

The GRA campaigned for a recruitment drive and supported McDowell's proposal to increase the force.

"Before 2004, there was a period of very low recruitment.

"The GRA put sustained pressure on government to increase it. To stop recruitment now would be a backwards move," O'Boyce added.