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The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, today (Thursday) announced the launch of this year’s recruitment campaign for new members of An Garda Síochána on www.publicjobs.ie.

Announcing the campaign, Minister Flanagan said:

To give effect to the Government’s commitment to increase the strength of An Garda Síochána to 15,000 members by 2021, the Garda Commissioner has asked the Public Appointments Service to run a new Garda recruitment campaign.
A career in An Garda Síochána is a rewarding one of public service with members making a vital contribution to the safety and well-being of the communities they serve on a daily basis.
While community policing remains at the heart of policing in Ireland the wide range of special units within An Garda Síochána today provide exciting opportunities to specialise in areas such as cybercrime, child protection, counter-terrorism; counter-fraud; international policing and much more.
I encourage all those interested in supporting the mission of An Garda Síochána to protect and serve to access the website of the Public Appointments Service (PAS) and submit their application at www.publicjobs.ie.
It is important that An Garda Síochána is reflective of the communities it serves and protects and I urge members of minority and new communities to consider applying to this and future recruitment competitions.
In recognition of the training undertaken by Reserve members and the contribution they make to policing communities right across the country, the new campaign will again, 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 Flanagan continued:

A damaging legacy of the economic recession was a reduction in Garda numbers and the closure of the Garda College. However, since the College was reopened in September 2014, almost 1,770 recruits have attested as members of An Garda Síochána and have been assigned to communities nationwide. Another 600 recruits are due to attest later this year which will bring Garda numbers to 14,000, ensuring that the target of 15,000 by 2021 is well on track to be achieved.

Taking account of projected retirements, reaching a strength of 15,000 by 2021 will require some 1,600 more Garda members to be recruited on a phased basis over the next two years and the Government’s ambitious programme of accelerated recruitment will require a continuous pipeline of suitable candidates.

The Minister concluded:

It is expected that successful candidates from the new campaign will enter the Garda College from quarter 2 in 2019.

Notes for editors:
Applications must be made through www.publicjobs.ie. The closing date for applications is 3pm Wednesday 6 June 2018.
Successful candidates are required to undergo a two year training programme leading to a BA in Applied Policing. The two year programme comprises, Phase I - a 34 week block of tuition at the Garda College in Templemore (including 2 weeks leave) after which they attest as members of An Garda Síochána, Phase II - a 34 week block of on the job experiential learning and finally Phase III which consists of autonomous training.
Trainees receive an allowance of €184 per week during Phase I training with accommodation and food provided by the Garda College.
Following attestation as a full member of An Garda Síochána after successfully completing the 34 week block a member moves onto the first point of the Garda incremental pay scale of €29,699. The incremental scale rises to €48,271 per annum after 8 years with two further increments after 13 and 19 years' service which bring the maximum of the pay scale to €51,963 per annum after 19 years. Other allowances may also be payable including for unsocial hours, as may overtime.