Prison officer recruitment topped up in Budget

The Government has set aside extra money to allow the up to 300 prison officers to be recruited in 2023.

The Department of Justice says a record budget of €3.3 billion is going to be spent in the Justice sector in 2023. A statement issued on Budget day said that a major staffing package would include funding for 100 new prison officers for the Irish Prison Service

This is on top of the 200 new officers already in the pipeline to staff jails around Ireland next year.

A recruitment campaign launched by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee in July 2022. At the time it was announced that the Irish Prison Service intended to recruit up to 144 Recruit Prison Officers in 2022 with an additional 200 in 2023. 

It is understood that funding has been provided for in the budget to return training capacity in the Portlaoise IPS Training College to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 to allow extra officers to be recruited. The Brian Stack House building underwent extensive modernisation in recent years.

“I am delighted that the 2022 Recruit Prison Officer competition has now opened, allowing people the opportunity to join this frontline service,” said Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee in July. 

The last recruitment competition was held in early 2019. The 2022 Recruit Prison Officer Competition closed in August.

The IPS said in 2022 that up to 500 officers are expected to retire between 2022 and 2025.

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Nearly 550 officers have been recruited between 2019 to date in 2022. Recruitment was frozen for a number of years after the banking and property market collapse.