Recruitment campaign taking place for people to join Garda
A RECUTIMENT campaign is currently taking place for people to join An Garda Síochána.
The Gardai Trainee employment drive was launched at the National Ploughing Championships on September 18 and the deadline for applications is on October 9, 2025.
Applications can be made at www.publicjobs.ie.
The current strength of the organisation stands at approximately 14,400, which will be bolstered by another cohort of trainees due to graduate in November.
However, with retirements and career changes, it remains a priority for the Programme for Government which wants to recruit at least 5,000 gardai in the next five years.
According to the promotional material for the campaign, prospective candidates are being urged to consider the variety of roles that can be pursued within the job, as post holders are not typically desk-based and get to work on their fitness as part of their work.
The costs of training to become a member of AGS compares favourably with the costs of third level education.
Garda Trainees are paid €354 per week for the 36 weeks of training in the Garda College and graduate with a Level 7 Bachelor of Arts Degree in Applied Policing accredited by the University of Limerick.
Food and accommodation is provided free while resident in the Garda College.
Those who successfully complete their training come out to a guaranteed, full-time public-service pensionable job, where they start on a salary of €38,694 which rises incrementally to €59,736 per annum after 8 years.
Gardai are generally assigned to a regular unit working the Core Roster comprising of 4 days on/4 days off.
The hours of duty are made up of two tours commencing at 7am to 7pm, followed by two tours of 7pm to 7am.
Additional increments may be applied based on educational qualifications and gardaí have the opportunity to work on overtime, which is paid at a rate of time and a half, unless worked on a Sunday/public holiday, which is paid at double time.
AGS say it needs a diverse workforce that reflects the country’s population, and encourages applicants aged between 18 – 49 from all backgrounds to apply.
At the most recent attestation of Garda Trainees, 26 of the 154 that attested were born outside the state including Belarus, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, and Romania.
In addition, the competition is open to people up to the age of 50. In the last recruitment competition which took place in February 2025, 42 per cent of applicants were aged 30 and over.
