Minister McEntee welcomes attestation of 165 new Gardaí

Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD has welcomed the attestation of 165 new members of An Garda Síochána at an attestation ceremony in the Garda College in Templemore today.

Of the 165 attesting today, 110 are men and 55 are women.

The new Garda members will now be assigned to Garda Divisions throughout the country where they will begin their careers in An Garda Síochána.

Speaking today at the attestation ceremony, Minister McEntee said:

“I want to congratulate each of our new recruits and thank them for making that decision to join An Garda Síochána. They are making a personal commitment to public service and to keeping our communities safe, which is something we are all grateful for. Being a Garda is both a rewarding and a demanding career. It requires great sacrifice and it involves personal risk, but serving your community and your country is rewarding and fulfilling.

The willingness of our new Gardaí to serve and protect; and their ability to build relationships across the community, will continue to be the foundation for the trust the Irish public place in An Garda Síochána.”

Budget 2024 provided the highest ever allocation of €2.3 billion to An Garda Síochána, which is a 23% increase since 2020. This funding allows for the continued recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 Garda members.

Today is the first attestation to take place at the Garda College in 2024, with further attestations planned for June and September this year.

Four further intakes into the Garda College are planned for April, July, September and December of this year.

Minister McEntee added:

“There is good momentum building in recruitment to An Garda Síochána now. It is great to see classes growing in size, regular intakes and attestations, each once bolstering the strength of the organisation and improving Garda visibility in our communities.

I’m pleased to see continuing strong interest in a career in An Garda Síochána, with over 6,300 applying for the latest competition, over 30% women, 40% in the 35-49 age bracket and 25% noting their ethnicity as ‘other than White Irish’. This is really positive – an organisation that is diverse brings a variety of perspectives and experiences that will only improve the connection between our police service and the communities they serve.

Despite the competitive jobs market, we continue to see dedicated and talented people pursuing a career in policing and public service. This means more Gardaí on the frontline, preventing crime, supporting victims and helping keep all of us safe.“

Notes

Garda recruitment is building momentum and there was a very strong interest in the 2023 and 2024 Garda recruitment campaigns.

Other recent changes introduced by Minister McEntee to ensure that An Garda Síochána have the resources they need to keep people safe include;

• increasing the maximum age of entry to 50

• boosting the training allowance by 66% to €305 per week

• proposal to increase the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 62

• approval of new Regulations to commence a new Garda Reserve competition shortly

In accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes responsibility for the deployment of Garda members throughout the State.