The Garda Commissioner has today welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Justice Simon Harris TD that the latest Garda recruitment competition will open on 24 March 2023.

Candidates can apply at www.publicjobs.ie from 00.01 24 March 2023 until 15.00 on 14 April 2023.

The competition will be run by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of An Garda Síochána.

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.

It is a tough job that has its challenges, but what you will get out of it in terms of job satisfaction far outweighs those.

An Garda Síochána is an increasingly diverse organisation. We have one of the highest rates of female officers in Europe and in our last Garda competition more than 20 per cent of applicants were from minority communities.

However, we recognise that we have more to do in this regard to meet our aim of being fully representative of the people we serve. We want, and need, people from all backgrounds and communities to be Gardaí, and I would ask them to please apply.  This is the only way we will get the representation among our ranks that communities need and deserve.

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.”