Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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202. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the fact that it is a requirement that applicants to join An Garda Síochána must be proficient in Irish or English to outline the purpose of providing leaflets for the 2025 Garda Recruitment campaign in multiple other languages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18013/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Garda Authorities that in order to expand the Garda workforce, the Garda Commissioner set an objective to increase the number of applicants by broadening the reach of the recent recruitment campaign to attract a diverse cohort of candidates.

The Public Appointments Service and the Commissioner achieved this success by employing innovative strategies, such as advertising in languages other than Irish and English, and publicising the campaign to Northern Ireland, Canada, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand.

The Public Appointments Service (publicjobs) prepared a Candidate Information Booklet for the Garda Trainee campaign and this was available in English and Irish only.

Separately, An Garda Síochána developed leaflets promoting the recruitment campaign being run by publicjobs in a number of languages.

The Assessment Questionnaire and Written Assessment, which forms the first stage of the application process, must be completed through English and candidates cannot complete this in any other language.

The recruitment campaign aligns with An Garda Síochána’s organisational priority to achieve greater diversity, including increased ethnic, gender and socio-economic representation across members.

Recruitment outreach was delivered through a mix of community engagement, media campaigns and direct outreach initiatives at the national, regional, and divisional levels.

This included:

• Media and Digital Campaigns: Television, radio, print, social media, podcasts and paid advertising.
• Recruitment Stands: Presence at third-level institutions, shopping centres and events.
• Community Outreach: Engagement with schools, colleges, sports clubs and minority groups.
• Information Seminars: Face-to-face and virtual sessions to educate potential applicants.

The recruitment campaign was promoted for three weeks and attracted almost 6,700 applicants.

The campaign successfully attracted a diverse range of applicants, with 32% of applicants being female, 42% aged 30 and over, and 23% identifying their ethnic background as other than white Irish.

The Commissioner is satisfied that the applicants come from diverse backgrounds, which will ultimately ensure that An Garda Síochána represents the population it serves. An Garda Síochána offers a highly rewarding career, and the number of applications confirms the campaign's message that it is 'a job worth doing'.