Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 128: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons currently on the panel of Garda trainees awaiting to commence training; when the Garda college in Templemore, County Tipperary, will begin accepting applicants from the panel, some of whom have been on the panel for over two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10914/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are currently 410 Garda applicants that have successfully completed stages 1 and 2 of the application process. Of these there are a total of 164 applicants who have completed all stages of the application process and are approved for entry to the Garda College. The remaining candidates are being processed through background screening, medical examination and physical competency tests.

As the moratorium on Public Service Recruitment continues to apply to An Garda Síochána, no date has been fixed for future intakes into the Garda College or for the commencement of a recruitment competition. A decision on when recruitment will re-commence will take into account the rate of retirement in the Garda Síochána and Government targets for reductions in public service numbers.