Poor fitness levels a growing problem in recruiting gardaí, Dáil hears

Garda applicants failing the fitness test is a growing problem and a contributory factor for the failure to meet this year’s target of recruiting 800 gardaí, the Dáil has heard.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee also revealed that members of the force are leaving after a short period of time to join multinational companies on a higher salary as they develop expertise in areas such as cybercrime, fraud, immigration and domestic violence.

Some 11,000 people applied to join An Garda Siochána in this year’s recruitment campaign for 800 gardaí including “many more women and many more from different backgrounds” said Ms McEntee.

It is expected that just under 500 will be in place by the end of the year.

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At question time in the Dáil on Thursday, the Minister said that funding was allocated this year for 800 Garda members.

She said that target would not be met because of challenges at the beginning of the year with Covid-19 and getting recruits into Templemore College in Co Tipperary for training.

There were also cases of people who decided over the pandemic to change paths and went into other careers, she told Social Democrats joint leader Catherine Murphy.

She added that “there were a number of people who could not pass the fitness tests and that is a problem that is actually rising”.

Ms McEntee recalled having to do fitness tests for PE in school and “these types of fitness tests – it’s really important that our gardaí can have a certain level of fitness and they are challenges that are arising”.

Ms Murphy, a TD for Kildare North, said that Co Kildare and the Minister’s constituency of Co Meath “are two outliers in terms of Garda numbers. They are way off a fair allocation.”

She told Ms McEntee that it must be a “huge embarrassment” that Co Meath has half the national average of gardaí, “that the worst ratio must be your own area and you’re the Minister for Justice”.

Ms McEntee replied that she was extremely proud of the work that gardaí in Co Meath do. “While obviously I want to see more gardaí more on the beat, more in community policing. It is important that there is that separation from the Garda commissioner who decides where they go.”

She said her job is to provide the funding, resources and legislation to help them do their job more effectively and efficiently.

The Minister added that there was an unprecedented €2.1 billion budget for gardaí for next year and this will fund up to 1,000 new recruits next year, but also 400 additional civilian staff. The next group of 200 recruits will start on November 28th and it is expected that rolling training of 200 trainees will commence every 11 or 12 weeks.

Sinn Féin justice spokesman Martin Kenny raised concerns about difficulties in retaining gardaí who are leaving for other jobs after a short time in the force.

He said he met the Garda Commissioner who confirmed that “a lot of the gardaí we recruit are coming with skills, particularly in cybercrime and then when they get trained in the Garda Siochána, they go off to work for some of these multinational corporations for a higher salary”.

Ms McEntee said figures for last year showed nine more members had left compared to 2018. She outlined a range of measures to create a better working environment including recruiting more gardaí to take pressure off those under huge pressure currently.

“We have a Garda wellbeing app that is being developed,” with constant calls from Garda representative groups for more mental health supports, “better internal communications, more transparent promotion processes”.

Mr Kenny also said he had been contacted by some 50 gardaí in recent months who were trying to get transferred to their home area. It was having a “detrimental effect and they will then decide to leave the force when they can’t get transfers”.

He said that when every other sector had more flexible working conditions “gardaí have a very rigid system”.

The Minister said that new recruits are sent to stations away from their home town and it might take time to get back “but that is very much a role for gardaí, not for me”.