Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising the matter. I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who is unable to attend.

As the Senator rightly stated, the age limit is set out in statutory regulations. She has already put those regulations, for the information of Senators, on the agenda of the House. She also acknowledged that there had been a substantial increase in the age limit from 26 years to 35 years.

I understand from the Minister that the upper age limit of 35 years was set following a comprehensive examination of the issues surrounding recruitment to the Garda Síochána. In particular, the assessment took account of developments in equality legislation and the Senator asked a question about it but I cannot sufficiently answer her at this point. She also outlined the criteria: the cost of training; the need for recruits to serve for a sufficient period as full-time members of the service to recoup the cost; and the operational requirements of the service. Having considered all the relevant matters, the Garda Commissioner recommended that the recruitment age be extended from its then limit of 26 years to a revised limit of 35 years. The Minister agreed with his recommendation which led to the introduction of revised regulations.

The Minister does not have any proposals to increase the recruitment age for entry to the Garda Síochána at this time. He believes that when recruitment begins again, as it inevitably must, there will be a sufficient pool of suitably-qualified and eligible candidates who will be provided with excellent training at the Garda College in Templemore and on the job in Garda stations throughout the country.

The training programme was recently revised as a result of the recommendations contained in the report of the review group on training and development in the Garda Síochána. Following the publication of the report, a working group was set up to examine the current entry requirements and amend, if necessary, the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations to accommodate the recommended changes to the student-probationer training programme. The aim is to improve and realign recruitment training in line with best practice in order to meet the new challenges of a changing society. It is anticipated that the amended regulations will be finalised in the near future.

The Minister has asked me to point out that there is an ongoing civilianisation programme in the Garda Síochána. While the moratorium on recruitment in the public service still exists, the recruitment age for civilian staff is well in excess of 35 years of age.