New gardaí welcomed 

A TOTAL of 197 new members of An Garda Síochána were recently attested into the force at the Garda Training College in Templemore.

It brings the total number of gardaí in the country to over 14,300.

Fine Gael said in Government it is committed to reaching 15,000 gardaí by 2021.

Dublin Fingal TD Alan Farrell (FG) welcomed the news.

 “It is vital that Garda recruitment continues, and that we build upon the 197 new members of An Garda Síochána who have just attested,” he said. 

“These 197 new gardai are part of roughly 600 new members of the force this year alone.

“I am also glad that An Garda Síochána is becoming more diverse, and more reflective of our society as a whole.

“Of the 197 new gardaí, 14 are from outside of Ireland, while 34 percent are women.

“In fact, the percentage of women in An Garda Síochána is now 28 percent up from 18.5 percent in 2006.

“While this is certainly positive, we must continue to promote inclusion and diversity within An Garda Síochána in order to have a Garda service which is truly reflective of modern day Ireland.”

Deputy Farrell added: “Continued Garda recruitment will allow for more gardaí to be stationed in our local communities in north county Dublin. This is of the utmost importance.”