More than 100 incoming members of an Garda Síochána have completed their training at the Garda College in Templemore, and will now be placed in divisions across the country.

The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee yesterday (20 January) welcomed the attestations of 122 new members.

Another 26 trainees are currently restricting movements in line with public-health guidelines, and will be attested in the coming weeks.

Minister McEntee said that the new members of the force had demonstrated “their commitment to providing a trusted and effective policing service that is valued for the public service it provides”.

She also welcomed the fact that 27% of those attesting this week were female, while 21 were born outside the State.

Increasing diversity

This month’s attestations will bring the total number of gardaí to 14,411, with another 235 currently in training. The Department of Justice said that, while recruitment had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, this still represented an increase from the 12,943 garda members in 2016.

Budget 2022 provided for the recruitment of 800 new recruits and 400 other garda staff this year. The department said that a new recruitment competition would be launched shortly.

“The new recruitment campaign provides a very valuable opportunity to further increase diversity within the organisation, and I would urge anyone with an interest in joining our national police service – and in particular women and members of minority communities – to consider applying when the competition opens,” said the minister.