Applicants from 'all communities' sought as part of new garda recruitment drive

People from all backgrounds and communities are being urged to apply to join An Garda Síochána, with applications open from this Friday. 

The Minister for Justice, Simon Harris has announced that a new recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána will open for applications this Friday, 24 March 2023, for three weeks.

This new recruitment campaign will assist in the recruitment of 1,000 new Gardaí this year, as provided for in Budget 2023, and will secure a strong pipeline of recruits into the Garda College into the future.

Speaking on Tuesday, the Minister for Justice said: "A career in An Garda Síochána is a challenging but rewarding one. It will change your life and the lives of others – having a personal impact on the community you serve will give you a sense of achievement like nothing else. Being a Garda is a tough job, but is a job worth doing.

"Few institutions in Irish life are as respected as An Garda Síochána. The close connection between Gardaí and the communities they serve is the envy of police services around the world.

"Recruiting 1,000 Gardaí in 2023 is central to the Government’s commitment to build stronger, safer communities, and I know there will be people listening today who will hear this and think that they too can work with us to deliver on that mission.

"Policing is not a career for the faint of heart – it is a career for those with strong initiative and perseverance, tolerance, composure, a strong moral compass and most importantly respect and compassion for the communities that they serve. To protect and to serve in An Garda Síochána is a worthwhile and valued career, and I would like to encourage anyone who feels up to the job to consider applying," Minister Harris said.

Visit publicjobs.ie for more information on how to apply.”

There are currently over 200 trainees in the Garda College, derived from the most recent recruitment campaign launched in 2022 by Minster Helen McEntee.

 The Garda Commissioner has outlined to the Minister his intention that four further tranches of around 225 recruits will enter Templemore throughout the rest of 2023, provided for by candidates from the previous campaign and later supplemented by the new recruitment campaign being launched by Minister Harris.

"An Garda Síochána is an increasingly diverse organisation. We have one of the highest rates of female officers in Europe and in our last Garda competition more than 20 per cent of applicants were from minority communities," Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said.

"However, we recognise that we have more to do in this regard to meet our aim of being fully representative of the people we serve. We want, and need, people from all backgrounds and communities to be Gardaí, and I would ask them to please apply.  This is the only way we will get the representation among our ranks that communities need and deserve.

"We also want to attract people who have gone overseas to come back and be a Garda. This is a great opportunity to make a positive impact on the country you grew up in. 

"As I have said before, we want to not only meet the Government target of 15,000 Gardaí, but given population growth and demographic change, as well as the rapidly changing nature of crime, I believe there is a strong case for more than 15,000 Gardaí," the Garda Commissioner said.