Minister for Justice Simon Harris has announced a new recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána will open for applications on Friday for three weeks.
The new recruitment campaign will assist in the recruitment of 1,000 new gardaí this year, as provided for in Budget 2023, and will secure a strong pipeline of recruits into the Garda College into the future.
There are currently over 200 trainees in the Garda College, derived from the most recent recruitment campaign launched in 2022.
Speaking on Tuesday's announcement, Mr Harris said: “It is incredibly important that a modern police service reflects the communities that it serves. If An Garda Síochána better reflects the rich diversity of Irish society, they will be better able to understand the different needs and concerns of the communities they serve and in turn make those communities stronger and safer."
In a further statement released on Tuesday, Mr Harris said that the force was an "increasingly diverse organisation".
"We have one of the highest rates of female officers in Europe and in our last grda competition more than 20 per cent of applicants were from minority communities.
"However, we recognise that we have more to do in this regard to meet our aim of being fully representative of the people we serve. We want, and need, people from all backgrounds and communities to be gardaí, and I would ask them to please apply. This is the only way we will get the representation among our ranks that communities need and deserve.
"We also want to attract people who have gone overseas to come back and be a garda. This is a great opportunity to make a positive impact on the country you grew up in."
