800 new Gardai to be recruited and trained in next year – English

“I welcome the news that 800 new Gardai will be recruited and trained
in the next year, with a plan in place for a further 3,200 over the
next 4 years. This will bring the force to 15,000 Gardai which will
make all of our communities safer places to live and work in” the
Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal and Fine Gael T.D. for Meath
West Damien English has stated this morning.

“There is no doubt that the pause in recruitment and training during
the years of recession and Troika had an impact on Garda numbers, but
Fine Gael in Government has prioritised recruitment and training of
1,200 new Gardai already and new Garda vehicles as the resources have
allowed.  i am delighted that this morning we now have an accelerated
recruitment campaign in place, especially in light of retirements that
will take place in the coming years” stated Minister English.

“The new Garda positions will be advertised on publicjobs.ie with the
closing date on Thursday 29th September. I will be urging the Minister
for Justice and the Garda Commissioner to ensure that the Meath West
Constituency gets its fair share of increased Garda numbers” concluded
Minister English.