The Garda Síochána now has trainees originally from China, Poland, Canada, Romania and Denmark in a reflection of the changing composition of Irish society, Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said today.
Mr Lenihan was speaking at a graduation ceremony for 249 new members of the force at Templemore Garda College in Co Tipperary.
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan
He said the Garda force "must be broadly representative of the community it serves, and the changes in Irish society are starting to be reflected in the intake of Garda recruits".
The Minister said that among the most recent intake of Garda students in May were four Chinese nationals, as well as one each from Poland, Romania and Denmark.
"There are also two Chinese trainees, as well as a Polish trainee and a Canadian trainee, at a later stage of training," he said.
"This new diversity of student intake follows on from recent changes to the entry requirements for An Garda Síochána, and is in its early stages."
The Minister said he will keep the situation "under review" to see if any further change is needed to ensure that the force "remains representative of the public it serves".
Today's ceremony was the Minister's first graduation ceremony for new Garda members.
He said there were challenges in "policing the new Ireland", with its increasing population, changing demographics and policing issues in the new commuter belts.
"Of course, chief among these challenges is combating the violence perpetrated by criminal gangs seeking to achieve dominance in the illicit drug trade, violence which has led to a spate of vicious murders," Mr Lenihan said.
He noted the "huge efforts" the Garda is making to stop "internecine violence", for which they often get "no help and no thanks from the very people they are trying to protect".
"There is no easy solution to this serious problem. What is needed, and what the gardaí are doing, is targeted, intelligence-led, consistent, high-intensity policing. This must be backed up by proper resources and strong laws, and that is where the Government is taking action." he said.
Mr Lenihan said a major recruitment drive undertaken by the last government had raised the strength of the force to over 13,0000 with more than 1,000 recruits in training.
Under the new Programme for Government, the Garda strength would be raised to 15,000 by 2010 and to 16,000 by 2012, he said.
Mr Lenihan said the Government was also significantly increasing the level of civilian support within the force to release gardaí from administrative work.
He also said recent investment investment in policing had also been accompanied by strong reform of the criminal law, which had "significantly enhanced Garda powers of criminal investigation".
Mr Lenihan noted that the Garda annual budget is now its highest ever at €1.4 billion. The force had received 1,200 new Garda vehicles last year and a new digital radio service being tested in Dublin is due to be introduced nationwide.
The largest ever Garda building programme is also currently under way, and in the medium term the National Development Plan has allocated €260 million for Garda stations.
"These developments, and many more, demonstrate more clearly than any words of mine the high priority given by the Government and the Commissioner to investment in the force," Mr Lenihan said.