A renewed push for Garda recruitment has seen significant interest from ethnic minorities and relatively older candidates over the age of 30, new data has shown.
Amid ongoing efforts to swell its ranks, An Garda Síochána said it has received more than 11,000 applications to join the force this year, across two application windows.
Of those in the last round that closed in October, 40 per cent were aged 30 or over while almost a quarter were from ethnic minorities.
Just under a third (32 per cent) of applications were from women, a figure in keeping with the overall rate of female membership, currently at 30 per cent, and higher than the European policing average, according to Garda management.
RM Block
The high level of applications from older hopefuls follows an increase in the maximum age for recruitment introduced last year from 35 to 50 after the previous limit had been found to be discriminatory. Until 2004, the upper age limit for applications was 26.
The recent 40 per cent figure for applications among those aged 30 or over was broadly consistent with the rate seen in the earlier round this year when 42 per of 6,784 applicants were in that older age cohort.
The mandatory retirement age for members of the force was also raised last year, from 60 to 62.
Seventy per cent of those who applied in the September/October competition described themselves as “white Irish”, down from 88 per cent in 2019.
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Of the 23 per cent who described themselves as something other than white Irish, the largest group was Asian (5 per cent) while 7 per cent of the total preferred not to specify.
The force has been trying to grow numbers in recent years and the Government has provided additional funding for recruitment.
The process has been slow, however, with total membership put at 14,325 at the end of September, just 327 higher than it was at the end of 2023.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said earlier this month that a target of recruiting 1,000 new members a year for the next five years was “challenging” but achievable. It will involve raising capacity at the force’s training centre in Templemore, which is currently between 800 and 900 trainees a year.
At present, there are 564 recruits in training with the next group of graduates due to be sworn in next month, at which point a new group will also commence their 36 weeks training.
“This number of applicants so soon after our last competition in February demonstrates there is a lot of interest in making a difference to communities by becoming a garda,” said Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly.
“This level of applications will give us a strong pipeline of Garda trainees as we seek to further grow the number of gardaí this year and in the coming years.”
