Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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318. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the next recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána will commence for new entrants; the number of stages in the recruitment process; if candidates can appeal decisions made against them during this process (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43457/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, it is the Garda Commissioner who is responsible for carrying on and managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána, including by arranging for the recruitment, training and appointment of its members. I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. I have been informed by the Garda Commissioner that there is currently no date for the commencement of a new recruitment campaign for Garda Trainees.

As the Deputy will be aware this Government is committed to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime.  To make this a reality for all, the Government has in place a plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021 comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Reserve members and 4,000 civilians.

I am informed that the most recent recruitment campaign which closed for applications on the 7 June 2018 again received a strong response with approximately 6,300 applications received. This compares favourably to the 2017 competition which received approximately 5,400 applications and indicates that a career in An Garda Síochána continues to be regarded as an attractive and rewarding profession.  

The Deputy will be aware that since the re-opening of Templemore College in September 2014, we have been rebuilding the Garda organisation and I am pleased that, since then, approximately 2,200 new Garda members have attested and been assigned to duties in communities throughout the country. Garda numbers, taking account of retirements, increased to approximately 13,500 at the end of 2017 – a net increase of over 600 since the end of 2016.  With another attestation of approximately 200 Garda recruits due to take place in November, Garda numbers will increase to approximately 14,000 by the end of this year for the first time since 2011.

By year end, a further 800 new Garda Recruits will have entered the Garda College in 2018 and I am pleased that funding is in place to maintain this high level of investment in the Garda workforce to ensure that the vision of an overall workforce of 21,000 by 2021 remains on track. In that regard to support the Commissioner in this recruitment, I have secured funding in Budget 2019 which will facilitate the recruitment of up to 800 more Gardaí next year.

This is an ambitious programme of recruitment and will require a continuous pipeline of suitable candidates.

Regarding the stages of the recruitment process, in accordance with the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013 the Public Appointments Service (PAS), on behalf of the Garda Commissioner, manages the initial recruitment stages for the selection of Garda trainees. Currently, the first three stages of the process which are conducted by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) are as follows;

Stage 1: Online Assessment – Unsupervised

Stage 2: Assessment Test & Exercises – Supervised

Stage 3: Interview & Other Assessments

Appeals for the first three stages of the process are dealt with by PAS, and I as Minister have no function or direct involvement in this process. Following these three stages, successful candidates from the PAS process are forwarded to An Garda Síochána.

The final stages of the recruitment process in which candidates are vetted, and complete a physical competency test and a medical examination, are managed by the Commissioner and I, as Minister, have no direct involvement in the matter.

I would advise any candidate for a position as a Garda trainee to contact the PAS or the Garda Appointments Office, depending on the relevant stage of the application process, if they have any queries in relation to their application.

Potential candidates should also continue to monitor publicjobs.ie for details of any upcoming competitions.