Law - Thurles Information

New Garda Recruitment Campaign Announced.

1,000 new Garda recruits to enter Templemore in 2023.

The Minister for Justice, Mr Simon Harris TD, has today announced that a new recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána will open for applications on this Friday, March 24th 2023, for three weeks.

This new recruitment campaign will assist in the recruitment of 1,000 new Gardaí this year, as provided for in Budget 2023, and will secure a strong pipeline of recruits into the Garda College, Templemore, Co. Tipperary, into the future.

Speaking today, the Minister for Justice stated: “A career in An Garda Síochána is a challenging but rewarding one. It will change your life and the lives of others – having a personal impact on the community you serve will give you a sense of achievement like nothing else. Being a Garda is a tough job, but is a job worth doing.

Few institutions in Irish life are as respected as An Garda Síochána. The close connection between Gardaí and the communities they serve is the envy of police services around the world.

Recruiting 1,000 Gardaí in 2023 is central to the Government’s commitment to build stronger, safer communities, and I know there will be people listening today who will hear this and think that they too can work with us to deliver on that mission.

Policing is not a career for the faint of heart – it is a career for those with strong initiative and perseverance, tolerance, composure, a strong moral compass and most importantly respect and compassion for the communities that they serve. To protect and to serve in An Garda Síochána is a worthwhile and valued career, and I would like to encourage anyone who feels up to the job to consider applying.”

Both the Government and Garda Commissioner are committed to increasing diversity within An Garda Síochána and ensuring that all communities see themselves reflected in our police service. The Garda Commissioner has put a welcome focus on equality, diversity and inclusion, as An Garda Síochána seek to embed the principle that human rights are the foundation and the purpose of policing in Ireland.

This has included changes to Garda uniform policy, the establishment of the Garda National Diversity Forum, representation from diverse and minority communities in An Garda Síochána, the establishment of a Garda internship programme focused on attracting candidates belonging to a group at greater risk of inequality or social exclusion in Irish society. An Garda Síochána are working to finalise an updated Equality, Diversity and Integration Strategy.

Minister Harris said: “It is incredibly important that a modern police service reflects the communities that it serves. If An Garda Síochána better reflects the rich diversity of Irish society, they will be better able to understand the different needs and concerns of the communities they serve and in turn make those communities stronger and safer.

An Garda Síochána is an inclusive organisation to work for, not only regardless of but embracing of your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic background”.

Visit HERE for more information on how to apply.

There are currently over 200 trainees in the Garda College, Templemore, Co. Tipperary, derived from the most recent recruitment campaign launched in 2022 by Minster Mrs Helen McEntee.

The Garda Commissioner has outlined to the Minister his intention that four further tranches of around 225 recruits will enter Templemore throughout the rest of 2023, provided for by candidates from the previous campaign and later supplemented by the new recruitment campaign being launched by Minister Harris.

Tipperary Garda Search Result In Five Arrests For Serious Offences.

Tipperary Gardaí based in Clonmel conducted a joint-agency search operation yesterday, operating alongside personnel from Revenue Customs Service, the ISPCA and the Irish Defence Forces.

**Distressing pictures released courtesy of An Garda Síochána**

During the course of their search, Gardaí seized suspected drugs together with three caravans, which they believe had been stolen.

Fifteen dogs and three horses were also taken into care, rescued by the ISPCA, latter the leading animal welfare charity here in Ireland, which specialise in rescue, animal welfare and preventing animal cruelty.

During the course of the search operation, five persons were arrested for various offences.

Clonmel District Gardaí Seek Your Help.

Gardaí in the Clonmel District of Co. Tipperary, are seeking the assistance of the public, in relation to investigations into five incidents over the course of last weekend (10th March to 12th March inclusive), where parked vans were broken into or interfered with.
* Overnight on Friday 10th – Saturday 11th March 2023, a van parked in the Prior Park Hill estate in Clonmel, was forcibly entered and a number of tools removed.
* At approximately 11:00pm on Friday 10th – Saturday 11th March 2023, a van parked on Main Street, Fethard was forcibly entered and a number of tools removed. From enquiries it has been established that at least three suspects were involved in forcibly opening the van and were observed leaving the area in a small dark-coloured hatchback car.
* Overnight on Saturday 11th – Sunday 12th March a van parked in the Auburn Park Estate in Clonmel was entered and a number of tools removed.
* Overnight on Friday 10th – Saturday 11th March a van parked in the Glenview Estate in Carrick-on-Suir was interfered with.
* Over the course of the weekend, from the evening of Friday 10th – morning of Monday 13th March a van parked in the Killaghy Crescent Estate, Mullinahone was forcibly entered and a number of tools removed.

Enquiries are ongoing into these incidents and anyone with any information is asked to contact Clonmel Garda Station (District HQ), Telephone: 052-6177640 or the Garda Confidential Line Free-phone 1800 666 111.

Gardaí are advising the public to lock parked or unattended vehicles at all times, day and night, and to avoid keeping any sums of money or other items of value in parked vehicles.

Thurles Man Sentenced To A Seven Month Jail Sentence.

Following an appearance at Cork District Court, a 33-year-old Thurles man, named as Mr Thomas Cawley, latter with a current address at Cork Simon Community, St. Nicholas House, Cove Street, Co. Cork, has been jailed for a total of seven months.

His sentence, imposed by Mr Justice Olann Kelleher, follows the abuse of two Gardaí in separate instances, together with the man’s large number of previous court convictions.

Sergeant Mr Pat Lyons said that on August 19th, 2022, shortly before 8:00pm, Garda Mr Barry O’Shea was on foot patrol in the area of Grand Parade, when he responded to a report of an extremely intoxicated man, in the vicinity.

The man resisted arrest and attempted to assault Garda O’Shea while verbally abusing him stating, “I’ll put you through that f***ing window“. When arrested the officer was told to, “F*** off, I’m not going to go anyway”.

Previously, on July 22nd, 2022, at North Main Street, Cork city, the same defendant told Garda Mr Jonathan Corcoran to, “Go eat your f***ing dinner”.

Mr Cawley admitted in court of being drunk around this same period of time at Maylor Street, Emmet Place and St. Patrick’s Street, in Cork city.

Mr Cawley’s solicitor, Mr Eddie Burke, in his defence stated, that the accused was now motivated to address his difficulties and was currently doing so. However, Mr Justice Olann Kelleher, having hear submissions in mitigation, jailed Mr Cawley for a total of seven months.

Prison Officer Graduation Ceremony At Dublin Castle.

The Minister for Justice, Mr Mr Simon Harris, has welcomed the graduation of 131 Recruit Prison Officers at the Print Works, Dublin Castle today. Of the 131 graduating, 23 are women and 108 are men, with 6 of these new recruits recorded as being born outside of the Irish State.

Under Budget 2023, a €6.5m additional staffing package was secured for the recruitment of circa 100 additional staff. Accordingly, the Prison Service has indicated that, overall, it intends on recruiting up to 260 staff in 2023 including Recruit Prison Officers, Work Training Officers, Trades Officers and Nurses.

The new officers have now completed their Higher Certificate of Arts in Custodial care (HCCC) and have already been assigned to prisons throughout the country.

New officers have also been assigned to the Operational Support Group, which prevents contraband entering prisons, detects prohibited articles in prisons and prevent the direction of crime from prisons, and the Prison Service Escort Corp, who escort people in the custody of the Irish Prison Service to and from court appearances and other necessary engagement in the community.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony yesterday evening, Minister Harris said: “I am delighted to be here this evening to welcome and congratulate the new graduates and their families.
This graduation ceremony is a fitting celebration and acknowledgement of the education and hard work undertaken by each of you to date, and your commitment to your careers in the Irish Prison Service.
Being a prison officer means providing safe and secure custody, dignity and care for those in the custody of the State and fundamentally contributing to the rehabilitation within our prisons.
Prison officers wear many hats – you have to be good listeners, coaches, authority figures, but above all else it means bringing humanity to your work each and every day.
As Minister for Justice, I am acutely aware of the vital role you play in the criminal justice system. Victims need to know that where serious crimes are committed, an appropriate sentence will be served. The Government will always appreciate the job you do.
I would like to thank all of you for making this commitment to serving the State. Your work will ultimately change lives for the better and contribute to building safer and stronger communities.”

The Prison Service has also made significant progress in the delivery of training to existing staff. Not only is the training designed and delivered by experienced operational staff, but a significant amount of training is delivered in the “live” environment of a prison.

This training is accredited by south east technological university (SETU) as the Higher Certificate of Arts in Custodial Care and reflects Level 6 of the NQAI framework.

The Higher Certificate in Custodial Care is a two year part-time programme, developed and delivered jointly by the Irish Prison Service and South East Technological University (SETU), which is designed to develop the professional competencies of Prison Service staff in working with people in prison. The Higher Certificate of Arts in Custodial Care is intended to facilitate a greater understanding of how officers can confront challenges through the exploration of different subjects including, Resilience, Mental Health, Social Psychology and Human Rights.