I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that they expect to recruit in excess of 200 Recruit Prison Officers in 2019. The assignments of these Recruit Prison Officers are based on the requirements at each prison and are predominantly to the Dublin Region.
The recruitment of Recruit Prison Officers by the Irish Prison Service has been ongoing since 2017 and has regard to such factors as service needs and retirement levels. The known retirements for all prison grades as of 7 March 2019 is 50 which includes 14 compulsory retirements. It should be noted that 383 prison grade staff will be eligible to retire but are not required to do so in 2019.