Recruitment of gardaí aged up to 50 starts from January
A GARDA campaign targeting recruits aged up to 50 – in a bid to boost numbers after record resignations from the force – will be launched next year, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
It follows a year when the number of rank-and-file gardaí hit its lowest in almost six years.
This year also saw the number of serving gardaí fall below 14,000 for the first time in five years.
In 2023 alone, 156 gardaí have resigned – and this is expected to reach 164 by the end of the month – as members warn the continuous exodus from the force is damaging already depleted morale.
Latest figures provided by An Garda Síochána show that 28 members resigned in October, compared to a total of 24 garda resignations in 2016. The figures rose from 74 in 2019, to 77 in 2020, to 95 in 2021 and 115 in 2022.
In response to queries from the
MoS, a spokesman from the Department of Justice confirmed: ‘A new garda recruitment campaign will launch on 15 January.
‘This will be the first recruitment campaign since the age limit for new gardaí was increased from 35 to 50.’
This year, figures provided by acting Minister for Justice, Simon Harris revealed that only 4,973 people applied to join the force, compared to 11,075 applicants for the 2022 recruitment campaign.
The 2022 number was somewhat inflated after no recruitment campaign was staged in 2020, due to Covid-19 shutting down the Garda training college at Templemore. The 2023 campaign opened on March 24 and closed on April 14.
In a written Dáil reply to Fianna
Fáil TD, Willie O’Dea, and Sinn Féin’s Maurice Quinlivan, Mr Harris stated: ‘While there was some pent up demand last year due to the pause in Garda recruitment due to COVID, this level of interest is in line with 2019, the last pre COVID recruitment campaign, and demonstrates the demand to join An Garda Síochána is as strong as ever.’
Policing has been in the spotlight recently following the worst riots in Dublin city in decades.
This followed October’s unprecedented and overwhelming vote of no confidence in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
The Commissioner was forced to deny a policing failure when gardaí effectively lost control of parts of the capital for hours, after chaos erupted following the stabbing of a woman and schoolchildren in the city-centre.
Shops were looted and vandalised, a Luas tram was destroyed and a bus set alight. One garda received serious injuries, which required him to have a toe amputated, several other officers were injured and 13 Garda vehicles were burned or damaged.
Research by the Garda Representative Association (GRA) showed that 99% of gardaí who resigned from the force in the last two years said their mental health had suffered since joining.
Almost three quarters of gardaí surveyed cited unfair treatment and bullying as a reason for leaving, while 70% reported a fear of discipline from the Garda Ombudsman affecting decision making.