100 New Recruits To Enter Garda College

One hundred new recruits are to enter Garda College, the Minister for Justice and Equity Frances Fitzgerald has announced.

Training will commence in September this year at the Templemore facility, and marks the first new garda recruits to be recruited in five years.

Announcing the news Mr Fitzgerald said: "It is five years since Templemore last saw new recruits entering Garda college, so the intake in September marks an important step forward, both for the Gardai, for the local community in Templemore; and for the country."

Minister Fitzgerald confirmed that she had received sanction from her colleague Brendan Howlin TD, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, to begin again to take new members into the force.

This follows a major recruitment overseen by the Public Appointments Service which saw over 20,000 applications.

The Minister stated: "I understand that An Garda Síochána will shortly be in touch with the first batch of successful candidates to advise them of this offer and to allow them to give adequate notice to deal with any existing commitments they may have."

The new recruits will undergo an innovative new training programme for Gardai, which has been developed to reflect the current policing environment and will better prepare the recruits for the reality of life on our streets. On conclusion of the two years training, the new Gardai will be awarded a BA in Applied Policing.

The Minister also commended all members of the Garda Síochána across the force for continuing to provide an excellent policing service to all communities. "I would like to place on record my appreciation to all members of the force for the work that they carry out on a daily basis in maintaining safe communities across the country."

(MH/IT)