Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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131. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the Garda recruitment programme is progressing in accordance with expectations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5713/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I was very pleased to announce the commencement of a Garda recruitment campaign on 12 December 2013, the first such recruitment since 2009. The closing date for applications was 9 January 2014, and some 25,000 applications were received by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) through their website .

The competition itself involves a number of stages of assessment and evaluation including online questionnaires and assessments, on-site assessments, interviews, and physical and medical examinations. The first stages are being conducted by the PAS, with candidates who qualify through these being placed in order of merit for consideration by the Garda Commissioner for assessment through physical, medical and security checks. The initial phase has commenced in the timeframe as planned. It is intended that new Garda trainees, who have successfully completed all stages of the recruitment competition, will enter the Garda College in the middle of this year.