AUSTRALIA is attempting to lure experienced gardai with a raft of enticing benefits including DOUBLE the holidays and a starting salary of over €65,000.
South Australia Police (SAPOL) are recruiting police officers from here and the UK to join their forces.
The lure of a dazzling package of benefits comes at a bad time for the force which is hoping to land 5,000 recruits over the next five years.
Gardai applying for the scheme in South Australia are required to have three years experience in the past five years and will undergo a 15-week training course if successful.
Aside from the draw of working in the warmer weather, there are pay and holiday benefits the force are offering to Irish cops.
SAPOL are offering six weeks annual leave on top of additional leave entitlements and 38 hour work week.
Gardai in Ireland have 35 annual leave days, amounting to five weeks off.
Upon permanent appointment the indicative starting salary for a cop with three years experience is $109,000 AUD, which is around €65,127.
This is inclusive of shift penalties for working outside normal pay hours.
The maximum amount on the pay scale for Gardai in Ireland is €59,842.
This is after pay increases during 19 years of service.
In recently secured pay increases by SAPOL officers will receive a minimum 8 per cent pay rise over two years.
SAPOL are also offering to cover the visa costs for Gardai willing to make the move to serve in the policing force down under.
They will also cover visa costs for intimidate family members also relocating.
Gardai will be given 100 per cent recognition of their work experience in Ireland.
An information webinar is being held on February 10 with further information available on the SAPOL website.
The inciting international recruitment offer comes amid concerns over falling Gardai numbers in Ireland.
In figures from An Garda Siochana it is revealed that since 2020 a total of 280 Gardai resigned after just a few years in the force.
In Budget 2025 €2.48 billion was dedicated to An Garda Siochana in an attempt to aid recruitment of new members.
Gardai recruitment applications this year open on February 6, with the aim of recruiting those 5,000 members in the coming years.
Drastic changes have been made to requirements in an attempt to draw more applicants.
This includes reducing the maximum age limit of Gardai from 35 to 50.
And in another move the allowance for a trainee garda has been increased to €354 a week.
