Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 June 2014
456. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of new members of the Garda Síochána to be recruited this year; the number of applicants who have been accepted to stage three of the application process; how many applicants have been accepted to stage four of the application process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24733/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is intended that the first intake of new Garda trainees who have successfully completed all stages of the recruitment process will enter the Garda College in July of this year. They will participate in the new training programme over the remainder of 2014 and it is expected that they will attest in early 2015. At that stage they will be assigned to Garda stations throughout the country by the Garda Commissioner. It is hoped to have further recruits entering training in Templemore in the remainder of 2014. The precise number of recruits to be included in each intake will be determined by a number of factors including retirements and will be decided shortly.
The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is managing the recruitment process for the Garda Commissioner and I have no direct involvement in the matter. I have, however, been informed that some 25,000 applications were received for the current competition. It is understood that around 18,000 candidates completed stage 1 tests, and of these approximately 13,000 reached a satisfactory standard. These 13,000 candidates were placed in three Bands in order of merit. All candidates have been informed by PAS of the results of these tests and of their position in each Band.
The top 5,000 candidates were placed in Band 1. These were then called to the next stages of the competition which involved further online unsupervised assessment tests. The top 600 of the 3,500 who were successful were brought to a supervised assessment centre, and approximately 330 of those successful at this stage were called for interviews. Those successful at interview stage are now being processed through medical examinations, physical tests and security checks. All these tests are designed to identify candidates who are suitable to be a Garda trainee. Candidates who are successful through all stages will be placed on a panel for entry into training in the Garda College.
