Seán Haughey
Question:71. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Justice the number of new gardaí it is proposed to recruit in 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52175/22]
View answerThursday, 20 October 2022
Questions (71)
Written answers
The Government's commitment to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs is underscored by the unprecedented €2.14 billion allocated under Budget 2023. This level of funding supports the planned recruitment of up to 1,000 new Garda members and an additional 400 Garda Staff in 2023.
As the Deputy is aware, while recruitment and training of new Garda members is a matter for the Commissioner, this was significantly disrupted during Covid restrictions.
A recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána took place earlier this year, which attracted significant levels of interest. I am advised that the first successful candidates from this campaign are due to enter the Garda college at the end of November, with further intakes scheduled at 11 week intervals over the course of 2023. In order to ensure that the pace and extent of recruitment is maintained consistently, the Garda Commissioner has recently advised me of his intention to hold a further recruitment campaign in 2023.
I can assure the Deputy that there is extensive engagement between my Department, An Garda Síochána, and the Public Appointments Service (PAS) with a view to ensuring that Garda recruitment campaigns are efficient in their operation and effective in attracting a range of diverse and well qualified candidates. Furthermore, the Garda Commissioner has put in place specific arrangements to streamline the final stages of the appointment process which are managed by the Garda authorities, including vetting, medical assessment and physical fitness test.