Vol. 438 No. 3
46 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí, to be recruited in 1994, which were originally scheduled for recruitment in November 1993; and if the Department of Finance constraints on expenditure were the reason only 30 garda trainees, instead of 98 garda trainees originally scheduled for training, were taken on in November 1993.
I am glad to have this opportunity to state the position clearly in relation to the recruitment of the 1,000 gardaí from a competition held in 1991.
It was originally intended to recruit these gardaí over four years, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995, at the rate of approximately 250 per year. As it happened 269 recruits were taken on in 1992. In 1993, I increased the intake to 324 in that year and I intend to recruit the balance of 407 from the 1991 competition in 1994. In other words, the 1,000 recruits will have been taken on over 3 years as opposed to 4 years as originally envisaged.
In planning intake of recruits in phases over each year, it is difficult to be precise with projections, because some trainees may drop out or otherwise leave during the initial training phase. Accordingly, it is necessary to review the position in the light of developments each year. It is possible that the higher number of recruits taken on in the earlier phases of intake in 1993 may have given rise to an expectation that the fourth and final phase in that year would be at the same relatively high level. However, I felt that the increase in the numbers recruited in 1993 from the original 250 to 324, including a final intake of 30 in November, was sufficient and that the balance of 407 remaining should be recruited in 1994 rather than in 1994 and 1995.
A new recruitment drive for the years 1995 to 1997 involving 350 recruits each year will begin soon.
