The Central Statistics Office (CSO) have carried out a study of diversity in An Garda Síochána, showing that around 36% of An Garda Síochána employees were female in January 2023.

The survery also revealed other key statistics. Based on the analysis of the staff of An Garda Síochána, the CSO found that in January 2023:

• Almost two thirds (64%) of AGS employees were male.
• Around 96% of AGS employees were below 60 years of age.
• Around 98% of AGS employees identify as ‘white Irish’.
• Some 98% of AGS employees were ‘Irish’ nationality.
• Around 4% of AGS employees had a disability.
• Approximately 89% of AGS employees identify as ‘Roman Catholic’, with 8% having ‘no religion‘.

Commenting on the release, Steven Conroy, statistician, said, “this is a pilot project, initiated by An Garda Síochána (AGS), to produce a statistical analysis of diversity of AGS personnel. Instead of AGS explicitly collecting and recording the demographic characteristics of employees, it measures diversity by matching public service workforce data to CSO datasets. The success of this project provides a template for anonymously measuring diversity in the public service, while adhering to the principle of “Once only” data collection. It highlights the further potential of the National Data Infrastructure (NDI) to provide an alternative approach to measurement in an environment where public service bodies are being asked to record the ethnicity and protected characteristics of people they interact with.”

“Our research found that some 64% of AGS employees in January 2023 were male. Around 96% of AGS employees were below 60 years of age. For ethnicity, around 98% of AGS employees identify as ‘white Irish’. Regarding nationality, some 98% of AGS employees were ‘Irish’. Around 4% of AGS employees had a disability. Looking at religion, it was found that around 89% of AGS employees were ‘Roman Catholic’ and 8% were ‘no religion’.”

Source: Central Statistics Office