Increase in multi-ethnic applicants for Garda
OVER 11,000 people have applied to become a member of An Garda Siochana with an increase from across all ethnic backgrounds.
And around 40% of applicants in the Garda’s latest recruitment drive are women.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said it was “gratifying” to see the high level of interest.
He added: “The increase in applications from across all ethnic backgrounds is also very welcome and encouraging, as is the level of applications from women.
“We know we have a lot of work to do to become more representative of the public we serve but this is a good start.”
DIVERSE
The recruitment campaign, which closed for submissions in March, received 11,075 applications, up from 5,197 in 2019.
A breakdown of applicants shows the vast majority of people who declared their ethnicity when applying were Whiteirish – over 8,570.
But as an overall percentage of applicants this was down from 88% in 2019 to 77% in 2022.
Significant outreach work was done by Garda personnel at local and national level to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply to become officers.
There was also an increase in the number of Travellers who applied to become a garda with 43 recorded. Only 14 applied in 2019.
The breakdown shows 387 people said they were Asian or Asian-irish, 152 said they were Black or Black Irish-african, while 122 said they were Other, including mixed background.
A total of 598 applicants said they were White – Any Other White Background – up from 347 in 2019.
It is planned that 800 people will be recruited from the applications for Garda training in 2022.