38pc of garda applicants fail fitness test: ‘They might be able to run 5k but they’re not fit enough’
More than a third of applicants to An Garda Síochána are now failing the general fitness test necessary to join the force, internal records show.
he failure rate for the physical competency test (PCT) hit 38pc last month — more than double the figure released by the Minister for Justice, Simon Harris, who said one in six applicants failed the fitness test last year — a rate of 17.5pc.
A high level garda recruitment committee was told last month that of 503 applicants scheduled to undergo a physical competency test, 38pc failed and 22pc didn’t show up.
The failure rate was again highlighted in December, when the committee was told that a “higher than expected” figure of 37pc of candidates had not passed the fitness test.
Amid concern over the rising failure rates, gardaí have tailored an instruction video on its website to advise applicants on how to better prepare for the physical competency test, with tips from Garda college instructors. The video is due to go online this week.
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