Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 350: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of non-Irish nationals and the number of Irish nationals from outside the jurisdiction who applied for entry into An Garda Síochána in each of 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 and 2000; the proportion of applicants in each of the above categories who were successful in their applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17444/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am advised by the Public Appointments Service (PAS), which is responsible for Stages One (aptitude tests) and Two (interviews) of the Garda recruitment competitions, that the information sought by the Deputy is not available and that to attempt to retrieve said information would necessitate the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of time and resources. While the vast majority of applicants provided addresses in Ireland, this does not determine whether they are Irish are non-Irish; this is equally the case with regard to applications made from outside Ireland. The PAS has, however, been able to supply information as to the ethnicity of applicants for Garda recruitment competitions by way of data gathered from Equality Monitoring Surveys. I have previously provided a detailed ethnic breakdown of the applicants under the 2005 competition to Deputy Michael D. Higgins in reply to Question No. 72 of 2 February, 2006. I would refer the Deputy to this reply.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 351: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the efforts which are being made to encourage non-Irish nationals to join An Garda Síochána; his plans to encourage such persons in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17445/06]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the efforts which are being made to encourage non-Irish nationals from outside the jurisdiction to join An Garda Síochána; his plans to encourage such persons in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17446/06]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the efforts which are being made to encourage Irish nationals from outside the jurisdiction to join An Garda Síochána; his plans to encourage such persons in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17447/06]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the requirements regarding the Irish language which are in place for applicants to An Garda Síochána; if the requirements are varied or adapted for applicants from other jurisdictions; his plans to change such requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17448/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 351 to 354, inclusive, together.

Following the Government decision in October 2004 to approve my proposal to increase the strength of An Garda Síochána to 14,000, I asked the Garda Commissioner to review the eligibility criteria for entry to the Garda Síochána. I am of the belief that future intakes of recruits to the Garda Síochána should as far as possible reflect the composition of Irish society, and my view was that this was an opportune time to ensure that the criteria for entry would better meet the evolving needs of An Garda Síochána and the society they serve.

I initially increased the maximum age of applicants from 26 to 35 in time for the recruitment competition in November 2004. That change has had a significant effect, with a significant percentage of recent recruits coming within the extended age range. In particular, it enables applications from a greater proportion of those members of the immigrant community who may have had years of relevant experience in their countries of origin before coming to Ireland. Equally, it presents a new career option to Irish nationals within this age bracket who may have lived abroad for some time and now wish to return.

In advance of advertising the most recent Garda recruitment competition, which was launched in September 2005, following a period of thorough consultation with the Commissioner and other stakeholders, I secured Government approval for a number of important changes aimed at facilitating recruitment from different ethnic backgrounds in our society.

Key among these was that the requirement to hold a qualification in both Irish and English in the Leaving Certificate or equivalent was replaced with a requirement to hold such a qualification in two languages, at least one of which must be Irish or English. A new nationality or residency requirement was also introduced. While there was previously no such explicit requirement, the need to have a qualification in Irish had effectively limited entry to An Garda Síochána to Irish citizens. Admission as a trainee is now open to nationals of an EU Member State, an EEA State or the Swiss Confederation, and nationals of any other state who are lawfully present in Ireland and have five years' lawful residence here.

These changes have opened up entry to An Garda Síochána to persons from all parts of the community and from all ethnic backgrounds. This is a hugely significant step which will help ensure that future intakes of recruits to An Garda Síochána reflect the composition of Irish society, to the benefit of the Force and the people it serves. A special working group comprising representatives of my Department, An Garda Síochána, the Public Appointments Service and the National Committee for Racism and Interculturalism, was established in order to devise an awareness campaign in conjunction with the 2005 competition, involving targeted media publicity and further consultations with representatives of the ethnic minority communities. This working group is now holding further meetings to review the outcome of the 2005 competition and to consider further initiatives to promote and publicise the next recruitment competition among these communities.

I believe that the participation from ethnic minorities in our police force will make a positive and lasting contribution to the ongoing change and modernisation in An Garda Síochána. Planning for the policing service we want to have for this country in 20 years time should begin now. We must be pro-active, progressive and build a vision as to how An Garda Síochána can provide an effective policing service in a more diverse Ireland.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 355: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applicants who, having passed the psychometric testing phase of the entrance criteria, were refused entry to An Garda Síochána on one or more of physical fitness, physical disability, ability in the Irish language, ability in the English language, visual impairment, hearing impairment or other stated basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17449/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Assessments of eligibility as regards the educational criteria for admission as a Garda Síochána trainee are carried out by the Public Appointments Service on the applications of those who have been successful at Stage 1 of the recruitment process (aptitude tests). I am advised by the Public Appointments Service that in 2004 a total of 52 such applicants were deemed ineligible purely on the basis of not having the required qualification in either English or Irish.

As the Deputy will be aware, in advance of the 2005 recruitment competition I replaced the requirement to hold particular qualifications in English and Irish with a new requirement to hold particular qualifications in two languages, at least one of which must be English or Irish. As such, neither language represents a stand-alone criterion on which a candidate can be found ineligible. In any event, the assessment process under the 2005 competition is not yet complete and thus details are not yet available as to numbers of applicants deemed ineligible on the basis of the educational criteria.

The extent to which applicants meet the other criteria referred to by the Deputy is assessed by the Garda authorities with respect to applicants who have been successful at Stage 2 (the interview stage) of the recruitment process. In this regard I am advised by the Garda authorities that the information requested by the Deputy in respect of the 2004 competition is not readily available and can only be obtained by the disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources relative to the information sought. As mentioned, the assessment process is not yet complete in respect of the 2005 competition.