Nearly half the women who took the garda fitness test last year failed

Nearly half the women who took the garda fitness test last year failed despite a major crisis in the recruitment of police.

Figures from An Garda Síochána reveal that overall 162 potential recruits of the 520 total that took the test last year crashed out due to fitness failings.

That was a failure rate of just over thirty per cent with younger candidates aged under twenty six doing worse than their older counterparts.

The pass rates for female candidates were much worse than men with 80 of 171 women having failed the physical test.

That was a failure rate of 47pc even as gardaí are trying to attain greater gender balance and struggling to sign up new recruits.

The Garda Representation Association has said there is a “recruitment and retention crisis” with numbers of recruits 33pc below targets.

Figures released under FOI reveal that of the eleven women aged twenty or under who took the fitness test last year, five failed.

In the age group between twenty one and twenty five, there were 81 female candidates, from whom 45 – a massive 55pc – did not pass.

There were 57 women between twenty six and thirty that took the test and from that cohort, 35 of them passed muster.

In the age category from thirty one to thirty five, there were 22 female candidates, of whom 7 failed the test.

Among men aged twenty and under, there were 16 applicants with all but two of them passing the test.

In the next age grouping from twenty one to twenty five, 141 males took the fitness test with 41 of them not making the grade.

For the age category twenty six to thirty, a total of 125 male candidates were tested with 21 of them failing.

Among those aged thirty one to thirty five, there were 66 people who took the test, and 18 of them did not pass.

There was also a single male candidate aged above thirty five years and he passed the test.

Overall, the figures showed that 520 people took the test, with a gender breakdown of 171 women and 349 men.

The fitness test is one of two physical exams that applicants must take, both of which have to be passed successfully to become a garda.

Figures released under FOI reveal that 455 took what is known as the physical competency test, with a gender split of around 30pc women to 70pc men.

The pass rate for this test was far higher with only 28 failures in total, a rate of just 6 per cent.

However, 19 of the failed tests were by female candidates, as compared to just 9 for men.

The highest rate of failure was again among women in the age bracket of twenty one to twenty five with 12 of the 64 candidates missing the targets set.

A spokeswoman for An Garda Síochána said all applicants were required to be aerobically fit so they could safely undergo the training programme at the Garda College, and the rigours of a policing career.

Recruits have to pass two separate tests, the first involving shuttle runs, sit-ups, press-ups, and the second an obstacle course. Slightly different standards apply according to gender.

The spokeswoman said requirements were clearly outlined in candidate information booklets, with information videos available online to help people get prepared in advance.

“Members … are encouraged and expected to maintain their fitness and health for long term effectiveness and physical fitness assessments are part of requirements for entry into and retention in certain specialist roles within An Garda Síochána,” she said.

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan’s exclusive take on the day’s news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.