Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has claimed Garda numbers are at an "all-time high" of over 14,000 due to his party's commitment to combating crime.
Mr McDowell was speaking at the launch of a billboard campaign promoting the PDs' record in Government prior to the next general election.
"Since 2002, we have increased Garda numbers to over 14,000, including recruits, and we will further increase Garda numbers to over 15,000 in the coming two years," he said.
"The Progressive Democrats are committed to ensuring that criminals feel the full rigours of the law and are under constant pressure from the apparatus of the State."
Mr McDowell said that by so significantly increasing Garda numbers at this crucial period in the fight against crime we have sent a clear warning to the criminal fraternity.
"The Progressive Democrats pledge that if we are re-elected we will further increase Garda numbers to over 15,000 in the next two years."
The Tánaiste said further reforms such as the Office of the Garda Ombudsman, a new Garda Inspectorate and the introduction of the Garda Traffic Corps will "further enable gardaí to combat crime in an even more directly and effectively".
Opposition parties have consistently criticised Mr McDowell's claims on Garda numbers, claiming they are not even close to what he claims.
Last November, Mr McDowell was accused by Fine Gael of engaging in a "cheap publicity stunt" by claiming 280 Garda recruits who started their first day's training had fulfilled the Government's promise to increase Garda numbers to 14,000.
Mr O'Keeffe said at that time that early retirements from the force had reached 350 per year. The number of fully trained gardaí was still below 12,800 meaning Mr McDowell was "not even half way" to fulfilling his promise of five years ago to bring the force to over 14,000 members.
Responding, Mr McDowell conceded the numbers of fully-trained gardaí stood at 12,900, well below the 14,000 promised before the last election.
However, he added, when those in training are added, including the 280 who arrived in Templemore on that day in November, the force now numbers 14,137. He said the number of fully-trained gardaí would exceed 14,000 in the next "12 to 15 months".