Trainees rejected after first being admitted to Garda College

James Cox

Gardaí have sought to correct a Freedom of Information response they issued, which stated that 76 trainees were rejected after first being admitted to the Garda College in the past year.

Following a report on BreakingNews.ie on Sunday based on that FOI response, the Garda Press Office issued a statement on Monday evening which said that "due to an oversight,  the response given to the FOI team in relation to a recent FOI query was incorrect."

It now states that 57 trainees failed to graduate since January 2024. It also said that none of these were for reasons related to the post-admission vetting of candidates.

Changes to the vetting procedures were introduced amid growing complaints about backlogs from applicants.

The changes allowed applicants to be admitted to the Garda College in Templemore while their vetting was ongoing.

Prior to the change, some applicants had been left waiting months, or even years, to hear back regarding their vetting.

Candidates from the 2022 and 2023 competitions who were left waiting months, and in some cases years, to find out if they were admitted have previously spoken to BreakingNews.ie about their experience.

The Government has committed to recruiting 5,000 new gardaí over the next five years.

Speaking after new members of An Garda Síochána were sworn in in January, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said: "My focus is on ensuring Ireland is a safer place for everyone. Making sure that An Garda Síochána is at full strength is a core part of that. This Government has made a commitment, and we will recruit at least 5,000 new Gardaí over the next five years."