Over the last two years, An Garda Síochána has allocated more than €3.65 million towards advertising, public relations, and communications efforts, reports Breaking News.
A significant portion of this budget supported a continuous recruitment campaign aiming to boost the number of gardaí in Ireland to at least 15,000.
Records indicate that media agency Spark Foundry received €755,000 last year and €682,000 in 2023 for its collaboration with the Gardaí, reports Breaking News.
These payments covered expenses related to the garda recruitment initiative, such as creating a television commercial, publishing public notices, and other promotional materials to draw in new recruits.
Additionally, Mediavest Limited – a company under the Spark Group – received a combined payment of €1.459 million, according to Freedom of Information data, reports Breaking News.
An Garda also reported over €664,000 in payments to publicjobs, the recruitment platform for government bodies.
Several smaller payments, each in the five-figure range, were made to companies like Bell Media, Comhar, Eolas, and Staffline Recruitment.
A total of approximately €30,000 was paid to the Communications Clinic, a prominent PR company, An Garda said, reports Breaking News.
This amount went toward media training for garda staff who may need to engage with the public or take part in interviews on television, radio, or print media.
The information revealed that advertising and communications expenses in 2023 amounted to €1.34 million.
But in the most recent year, those costs rose significantly by over 60 percent, reaching €2.26 million, according to the figures, reports Breaking News.
The Government has aimed to maintain a minimum of 15,000 gardaí, but Commissioner Drew Harris believes that 18,000 sworn officers are necessary.
Latest statistics indicate there are about 14,100 gardaí in active service, with around 150 currently on secondment, career breaks, or family leave, reports Breaking News.
During the most recent recruitment phase, which ended in February, the Gardaí received 6,700 new applications.
Roughly one in three applicants were women, 42 percent were aged over 30, and 23 percent identified with an ethnic background other than white Irish, reports Breaking News.
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