Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Our significant focus this time was on telling people about the recruitment process. There was a particular focus on diversity and we very much tried to ensure this time that different communities and groups were aware of the fact that this competition was open and that more women were going to apply. That in itself applied also to our Irish community and Irish speakers. This was due to the fact that we had a campaign over the past number of weeks to try to encourage people to think of An Garda Síochána as a career for them and asked people who had not, perhaps, put themselves forward or considered a career in the force before now to do so on this occasion. That would include people within our Gaeltacht areas and those who are proficient in Irish. We have seen a significant increase in other diverse communities applying, together with an increase in women applying and putting themselves forward. This is due to the fact that we put a very significant focus on letting people know that this campaign was open and that we very much wanted people from every community across the country to apply. Other than that, "I do not know" is the honest answer to the Deputy's question about why we have an increase in these numbers. The fact that we placed this focus on letting people know about the campaign and asked people from other communities to come forward had, possibly, a very significant part to play.