Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations, 1988

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 164/1988
• Year: 1988

I, GERARD COLLINS, Minister for Justice, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 14 of the Police Forces Amalgamation Act, 1925 (No. 7 of 1925), section 1 of the Garda Síochána Act, 1958 (No. 14 of 1958), and pursuant to sections 17 , 17A and 17B of the Employment Equality Act, 1977 (No. 16 of 1977), hereby, with the approval of the Government, make the following regulations:—
	1 Short title.	1. These Regulations may be cited as the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations, 1988.
	2 Interpretation.	2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to these Regulations.
	3 Definitions.	3. In these Regulations—
"the Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána;
"the Force" means the Garda Síochána; "Member" means a member of the Force;
"the Minister" means the Minister for Justice;
"trainee" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 4.
	4 Admission of trainees.	4. Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, the Commissioner may, in relation to the admission of persons to membership of the Force, arrange for the admission to training of such persons (in these Regulations called "trainees") and for their subsequent appointment and enrolment as members.
	5 Qualifications for admission as trainee.	5. (1) Subject ot these Regulations, the Commissioner shall not admit a person as a trainee unless—
(a) he is satisfied that the person is of good character;
(b) the person is certified by the Surgeon of the Force to be in good health, of sound constitution and fitted physically and mentally to perform the duties of a member, and—
(i) if a man, to be not less than five feet nine inches in height and to be built in proportion, and
(ii) if a woman, to be not less than five feet five inches in height;
(c) he is satisfied that the person is at least 18, but under 26, years of age on the first day of the month in which an advertisement of the vacancy to which the admission relates was first published in a national newspaper;
(d) the person has, before the first day of September in the year in which the said advertisement was so published, obtained a grade not lower than D in at least five subjects (including Irish, English and Mathematics) in the Leaving Certificate Examination of the Department of Education or in another examination which, in the opinion of the Minister, is of a standard not lower than the standard of that examination;
(e) he has been notified by the Civil Service Commissioners that the person has been successful in a competition (which includes a competitive interview) of such standard as the Civil Service Commissioners, after consultation with the Minister, shall determine; and
(f) the person is available to commence training within a reasonable time of being offered admission as a trainee.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of these Regulations, the Commissioner shall not admit a person as a trainee if it appears to the Commissioner that the person is generally unsuitable for such admission.
(3) (a) Whenever the Minister for Justice is of opinion that, having regard to the number of persons to be admitted as trainees, it is impracticable for the Surgeon of the Force to examine all such persons within a reasonable time for the purpose of certifying the matters specified in paragraph (1) (b) of this Regulation, the Minister may nominate (for such period as may be specified in the nomination) a registered medical practitioner (within the meaning of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978 (No. 4 of 1978)) to examine such persons and to certify the matters specified in the said paragraph (1) (b).
(b) A certificate issued under this Regulation shall be deemed to be a certificate issued by the Surgeon of the Force under the said paragraph (1) (b).
(4) Subject to paragraph (5) of this Regulation, where the age of a person is to be determined for the purposes of paragraph (1) (c) of this Regulation and the person is certified by the Adjutant-General to have served satisfactorily in any one or more of the following forces—
(i) the Permanent Defence Force,
(ii) the Reserve — First Line,
(iii) An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil,
(iv) An Slua Muirí,
the person shall, for the said purposes, be entitled to have deducted from his actual age a period not exceeding in the aggregate four years, which shall be—
(a) in respect of permanent and full-time service in such a Force, the period (or the aggregate of the periods) of such service,
(b) in respect of effective service in the Reserve-First Line, a period equal to half of the period (or of the aggregate of the periods) of such service,
(c) in respect of effective service in An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil or in An Slua Muirí, a period (not exceeding two years) equal to half of the period (or of the aggregate of the periods) of such service.
(5) A deduction under paragraph (4) of this Regulation shall not be allowed unless—
(a) in the case of a person claiming the deduction in respect of service in An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil, the person has completed two years' effective service and is certified by the local Area Officer (in lieu of being certified by the Adjutant-General) to have served satisfactorily,
(b) in the...