Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2007
153 Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications for membership of the Garda Reserve his Department has received from the people of County Kildare; the number of reservists that have been recruited within the county to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21186/07]
View answerRecruitment for the Garda Reserve is being carried out by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) and, since August 2006, 456 people from Kildare have expressed an interest to the PAS in becoming Garda Reserve members.
All of those people from Kildare who expressed an interest in joining were subsequently contacted by the PAS and many have not, to date, come forward for interview. As the nature of the Reserve is that participation is purely voluntary, Garda Reserve members have work, family and other commitments which they have to balance with their service in An Garda Síochána.
An Garda Síochána and the PAS is offering maximum flexibility in order to accommodate those who wish to put themselves forward for service. Recruitment is ongoing and new applications are accepted at any time. It is open to those who have initially shown interest in becoming Garda Reserve members to renew that interest now, or at any stage in the future, and An Garda Síochána and the PAS will continue to facilitate those who are interested. I have been informed that the PAS intend contacting people from Kildare again in the near future in order to arrange interviews for them in the coming months.
There are currently 5 people from County Kildare in training to become Garda Reserve members. It is expected that they will be fully qualified and operational in the Carlow/Kildare Division by November 2007.
