New garda recruitment campaign launched

The search for new members of An Garda Siochana gets underway this week after Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, chose the National Ploughing Championships as the setting to announce the second Garda recruitment campaign of 2025.

The campaign opens this Thursday, September 18, and will run for three weeks until October 9. Prospective candidates can visit publicjobs.ie for more information on how to apply.

The first campaign of the year ran for three weeks in February and received over 6,700 applications to join An Garda Síochána.

Minister O’Callaghan said his first priority is to "get more Gardaí on our streets, so communities are safe and feel safe" and he pointed out that the Programme for Government commits to recruiting at least 5,000 Gardai in the coming five years.

The launch of a second recruitment campaign this year reflects that commitment, said the Minister during a speech at the National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore. "We are seeing more Gardaí come through the Garda College and onto our streets, and there was significant interest in February’s campaign from a very diverse range of candidates, which is a testament to the enduring appeal of a career with An Garda Síochána.”

In total this year, 571 trainee Gardaí have entered the Garda College in Templemore, including the largest intake since 2019. Another intake is scheduled for November.

Among the steps which have been taken to boost recruitment are extending the maximum age of entry to 50 and increasing the weekly training allowance to €354.