LAST UPDATE | 21 Mar 2023

THE CABINET WILL hear today of plans to launch a new garda recruitment campaign which will begin this Friday, The Journal has learned.

Minister for Justice Simon Harris will bring a proposal to the Government with the plan to run the campaign for three weeks.

Earlier in March the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, acknowledged that the Government is going to have a ”big job” ahead of it to secure the 1,000 recruits they promised in the budget last year. 

Varadkar had said that there was a 1% resignation rate in An Garda Síochána and that this would require a concerted effort to replace those who have left the Force.

Previously The Journal reported on an increase in resignations of trainees.

The Cabinet will hear today that the campaign is part of a big drive to bring in new gardaí this year and secure a strong pipeline of recruits into the Garda College into the future.

The pipeline is a reference to getting as many recruits into the competition that it will allow for several admissions to Templemore.

Simon Harris will update the Cabinet on a plan from the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to support four intakes of 225 at 11 week intervals for the remainder of the year.

Commissioner Harris said, “Being a Garda is a great job. You get to make a real difference in people’s lives. Policing is in an honourable career and an extension of good citizenship. Every day, Gardaí keep communities and people safe through our unique approach to policing by consent.”

“We also want to attract people who have gone overseas to come back and be a Garda. This is a great opportunity to make a positive impact on the country you grew up in. 

“As I have said before, we want to not only meet the Government target of 15,000 Gardaí, but given population growth and demographic change, as well as the rapidly changing nature of crime, I believe there is a strong case for more than 15,000 Gardaí.”

To promote the recruitment competition, a €550,000 promotional campaign under the tagline of “It’s A Job Worth Doing” will go live across TV, national and local print and radio, online, social media, and outdoor from Friday.

The campaign will also target Irish people living in countries such as the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. 

The campaign is based on insights from Gardaí and features real-life examples from individual Gardaí of how they have helped people and communities.

The campaign aims to show the nature of the job – working at 4am, making arrests, being physical active, as well as the significant personal and social benefits such as engaging with communities, arresting criminals, helping victims of crime, and the camaraderie of colleagues.

There are currently more than 200 trainees in the Garda College, and four further tranches of 225 recruits will enter Templemore throughout the rest of the year.

Almost 500 passed through the college in 2022, between those who attested or started their training.

The Government will hear from the Justice Minister that the intakes are a significant increase on a recent large intake of 132 in early February, which itself was an increase on the 88 recruits who entered the Garda College in in November.

It is understood that the first candidates from the new campaign will be ready for interview by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) by July. To quicken the pace of recruitment PAS will increase its capacity to allow 400 interviews per month.