The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, has today welcomed over 200 new members to An Garda Síochána following their attestation as members at a ceremony in the Garda Training College, Templemore. Today’s attestation fell on International Women’s Day, just under 60 years since women joined An Garda Síochána for the first time.
Speaking at the Passing Out Parade today, the Minister said:
12 pioneering women, of a total of 400 recruits, entered An Garda Síochána in 1959. It could not have been easy for women to enter such a male bastion but those pioneers opened the door for others to follow. I am pleased that the number of women in An Garda Síochána continues to increase. While this is encouraging, we must continue to work to ensure that An Garda Síochána as an organisation reflects the diversity of the communities it serves.
46 of the trainees that attested today are women. The number of women in An Garda Síochána has steadily increased, particularly in the last decade, with the percentage of women rising from 18.5% in 2006 to just under 27% today. This is above the European average. In the same period, the number of female superintendents, inspectors and sergeants doubled in the organisation.
Today is the first of three attestations scheduled for 2019, which will see approximately 600 new trainees passing out of the Garda College and assigned to mainstream policing duties around the country. This will build upon the progress made to date in growing the number of sworn Garda members which stood at approximately 14,000 at the end of 2018, the highest number since 2011.
Addressing the new recruits, the Minister said:
It is always a welcome sight to see new recruits entering the Garda organisation. It is reassuring that the Garda Síochána continues to attract, as it has since the foundation of the State, people of the highest calibre who are prepared to commit themselves to the service of the State and its citizens. I encourage you, as the future generation of An Garda Síochána, to drive change, embrace challenge and take every opportunity you can to leave your positive mark on the organisation you are a part of and the community that you will serve. I thank you for having the courage and the commitment to public service to sign up to this exciting and challenging career.
The funding provided for sustained recruitment to An Garda Síochána will also see the recruitment of 600 Garda Staff (civilians) this year in addition to the 600 trainees. This civilian recruitment will facilitate the Commissioner in redeploying a further 500 skilled Gardaí to visible frontline policing duties by the end of the year. This level of recruitment into An Garda Síochána in 2019 will ensure that An Garda Síochána remains on track to reaching a strength of 15,000 members by 2021.
The Minister also noted the Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, which has been accepted by Government, saying:
The CoFPI report is transformative and will make policing more relevant and visible across society ensuring a modern organisation fully supported in its many complex roles.
Notes to Editors
- The Government has put in place a plan for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians.
- This is the first of three attestations scheduled to take place this year which will see approximately 600 new Garda members attesting and being posted to mainstream policing duties in communities across the country.
- The total Garda strength rose to over 14,000 by the end of 2018 for the first time since 2011.
- This investment in personnel is complemented by substantial investment in resources across the board for An Garda Síochána. A total budget of €1.76 billion has been provided to An Garda Síochána in Budget 2019, an increase of €110m on 2018. This funding will support the Commissioner’s decision to recruit 600 more Gardaí in 2019 along with necessary civilian Garda staff. The Garda capital allocation has increased from €61 million to €92 million in 2019, a 50% increase. This will facilitate investment of around €65 million in ICT .In addition, the Budget provides for a further €10 million investment in the Transport Fleet and €17 million in the Garda Building Programme.