Donegal welcomes 11 new trainee Gardai

The Donegal Garda Division welcomed 11 new trainees this week.

The new trainee Gardai, out of the latest batch of budding officers, began their training on Monday. They were welcomed to Letterkenny Garda Station upon their arrival to begin their phase 1/stage 2 training.

The latest Garda recruitment competition opened on Monday and it will run until 3pm on the 8th of February. The age limit to apply to become a Garda trainee has increased from 35 years to 50 years from this competition

The training allowance for trainee Gardaí has also increased and is now €305 per week.

In order to provide a steady pipeline of Garda trainees over the coming years, it is intended that Garda recruitment campaigns will run annually.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said: “Being a Garda is a hugely rewarding but at times tough job. As a Garda you will make a real difference in people’s lives. You will effect positive change in communities. You will keep people safe. You will support victims. You will uphold the law. And, through this valued and exciting work you will see first-hand the impact your actions have on the ground. This is why being a Garda is a job worth doing.

“Every day, Gardaí keep communities and people safe through our unique approach to policing by consent. It is this approach coupled with a host of career opportunities that has attracted people to become Gardaí. We have even had those who were police officers in other jurisdictions return to retrain as a Garda.”

The government has set a target of 15,000 Gardai and as of December 31 there were 13,998 personnel in the force.