Justice Minister Helen McEntee looking at 'hybrid ways' garda recruits could complete training

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is looking at "hybrid ways" garda recruits could complete training, as the Government is desperate to grow numbers.

In Budget 2025, funding of €2.48 billion will be provided to recruit 800 to 1,000 new gardaí. Hoping for more applicants, Minister McEntee increased the maximum age limit for recruits from 35 to 50 years old and the garda retirement age from 60 to 62.

Currently, garda trainees spend the first 34 weeks of their training at the Garda College in Templemore. However, the Justice Minister said she is hoping this programme can be changed or altered to entice more recruits.

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Speaking at a post-budget press conference, she said: "I’ve asked a separate group in my department to look at is there more we can do outside of Templemore. More we can do in terms of training differently- can we do hybrid or satellite to speed up the process, to acknowledge that people are applying later in life.

"They are living in different parts of the country, they have different commitments but they really want to be members. I don’t want anything to be a barrier for anyone who wants to apply and would be good at the job to stop them from applying."

Last week, Minister McEntee announced that she had dropped plans to introduce new hate speech laws. A hate crime element will still be included in the new proposed legislation, however, she said there wasn’t "a consensus" on the hate speech section so it’s been removed.

The Justice Minister said it’s still a priority, but not for this government. She said: "I accept there hasn’t been a consensus from the house with moving forward on the incitement of the hate speech element of it, but I do believe we need to move forward on this and I don't think it's for this government now.

"But, I think in the next government we need to find a way to find that consensus. We only have to look at some of the footage from TV programmes or social media to know that there is incitement taking place."

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