GRA criticises 'take in first, ask questions later' approach to Garda trainee vetting

James Cox

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has criticised the ‘take in first, and ask questions later’ approach to admitting trainees at the Garda College.

It comes after an Freedom of Information request, released to BreakingNews.ie, revealed 76 trainees were rejected after first being admitted to the Garda College in the past year.

This occurred after a change to the rules after backlogs, which allowed applicants to be admitted to the Garda College in Templemore while their vetting was still ongoing.

The change was made as some applicants had been left waiting months, or even years, to hear back regarding their vetting.

The 76 trainees were "deemed unsuccessful" for "Vetting, Medical, Physical Competence Test and Drug test".

In response to the story, GRA president Mark O’Meara told BreakingNews.ie: "This is another example of a botched, failed and embarrassing answer to a serious problem with Garda recruitment and retention.

“It was unsustainable to continue with the huge delays and backlogs in garda vetting of potential recruits which led to many applicants simply running out of patience and finding another career path.

“But the answer was to expedite the vetting process to help the recruitment process, rather than a ‘take in first, and ask questions later’ approach."

Mr O'Meara added: "The GRA have previously raised concerns about any changes to the normal vetting process and this vindicates our position.

“This will disappoint and even enrage many serving members as it once again shows a clear lack of joined up thinking when tackling the recruitment and retention crisis.”