merrion street

• 600 new Gardaí will be recruited in 2016 
• Announcement underscores the Government’s commitment to seamless ongoing recruitment to An Garda Síochána 
• Special selection stream for eligible serving Garda reserve members

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD, today announced the opening of a recruitment campaign for new members of An Garda Síochána in 2016.

This new campaign is necessary to fulfil the Government’s commitment to recruit 600 Gardaí in 2016.

Welcoming the new campaign the Minister said: “Today is an important day for An Garda Síochána. It marks the formal announcement on www.publicjobs.ie of the commencement of the 2016 recruitment campaign for new members of An Garda Síochána. It underscores the Government’s commitment to seamless ongoing recruitment to An Garda Síochána to ensure that the Service is renewed and has the capacity to provide effective policing services throughout the country.

The 600 new Gardaí to be recruited next year will bring to 1,150 the total number of new recruits since the reopening of the Garda College in September 2014. So far 295 of these recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and are on the ground in communities nationwide.

The existing recruitment campaign (commenced in 2013) is ongoing and successful candidates will continue to be called from that campaign in the New Year. It is expected that successful candidates from the 2016 campaign will enter the Garda College from mid-2016.

The Minister Fitzgerald said that “The 2016 campaign will, in addition to an Irish language stream, include a special stream for eligible members of the Garda Reserve who give their time on a voluntary basis to support the work of An Garda Síochána.”

Minister Fitzgerald concluded, “I encourage all those interested in joining An Garda
Síochána to access the website of the Public Appointments Service and submit their application at www.publicjobs.ie. In particular, I urge members of minority and new communities to consider applying so that the membership of An Garda Síochána will reflect the diverse communities that it serves.”

Notes for editors 

Applications must be made through www.publicjobs.ie. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 5th January 2016.

Successful candidates are required to undergo a two year training programme leading to a BA in Applied Policing. The two year programme comprises a 32 week block of tuition at the Garda College in Templemore for phase I with the remaining 72 weeks training taking place predominantly at selected Garda Divisions with specific periods of tuition built in.