MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Helen McEntee has announced a new recruitment drive for Garda reserves, which opens for applications today and closes on 4 July.

McEntee has set a target of having at least 1,000 reserves by 2026. There are currently 332 active reserves, according to An Garda Síochána.    

The Garda Reserve was founded in 2006. It is a volunteer service drawn from local communities and at its peak in 2013 it had 1,164 members. Reserves work alongside full-time gardaí and assist in a variety of policing tasks.

Those include helping with traffic policing, boosting Garda numbers during State visits, policing public order incidents and assisting with crowd control at large scale public events.

“Reserves bring a variety of experiences and perspectives to the organisation, including local knowledge and links to the communities in which they serve, which brings to life An Garda Síochána’s core value of community policing,” McEntee said.

McEntee’s Justice Department said it had secured an increase in the maximum tax-free stipend paid to reserve members from €1,000 per year for over 100 hours of volunteering to €3,000 for over 200 hours of volunteering in a year. 

A graduated scale of stipend will apply depending on the total number of hours volunteered, the Department said. 

Garda Reserve stipend scale Dept of Justice Dept of Justice

“This is part of my overall plan to boost Garda recruitment,” McEntee said.

Garda recruitment and retention has been an ongoing difficulty for the Government and one measure taken by McEntee was raising the minimum age for applicants to join the full-time force. 

“We have significantly increased the Garda Training allowance by 66%, increased the age of entry from 35 to 50, and will shortly enact legislation to increase the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 62,” the minister said.

“This year 6,300 people applied to join An Garda Síochána, a significant increase on the number applying last year.” 

She said that “no stone will be left unturned” and that she was continuing to look at additional measures to help boost recruitment. 

“The Garda Reserve is a big part of our plan.”

Garda.ie lists the requirements for joining the reserves as follows: 

• Be aged at least 18 and no older than 59.

• Be a national of European Member State, an EEA State, the UK or the Swiss Confederation.

• Live in the State for a period of 1 year prior to date of application and have spent 4 of the last 8 years as a resident in the State. For a total requirement of 5 years of residency.

• Be in good health with good vision.

• Be of good character.

• A Grade of not less than a D3 or O6 in 5 subjects at not lower than ordinary level in the Leaving Certificate.

• A Level 5 Certificate or greater that is recognised with the National Framework of Qualifications or equivalent as determined by Quality and Qualifications Ireland.

• Proficient in either or both Irish and English.

More details can be found at publicjobs.ie.