Garda Recruitment sees Sharply Increased Diversity, Reflecting Modern Ireland
Dublin, Ireland – Applications from individuals identifying as “white Irish” to join the Garda Síochána (Irish police force) have fallen to 70% in 2025, down from 88% in 2019, according to newly released figures. Simultaneously, applications from candidates identifying as “black” or “Asian” have more than tripled, rising from 2% to 7.2% over the same period.
The data, provided by the Public Appointments Service to the Irish Examiner, highlights a important shift in the demographics of those seeking to serve in Ireland’s national police force. A newly tracked category encompassing “other including mixed” ethnicities has also seen rapid growth, nearly doubling from 1.5% of applicants in 2024 to 2.9% in 2025.
The figures relate to the February Garda recruitment competition, which attracted a total of 6,784 applications. With another recruitment drive scheduled for this month, former Garda Commissioner drew Harris recently emphasized the need for a robust candidate pool to meet government targets of hiring 1,000 new recruits annually between 2025 and 2029.
While answering the ethnicity question was not mandatory – with 8% of applicants (535 individuals) choosing not to disclose – the trends are clear. Applications from
