Garda members have been convicted of crimes 14 times over the past two years, including for domestic violence and drug-related cases. About half of the convictions arise from road traffic offences.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has said that while only a “small minority” of Garda members were placed under investigation, and only one or two were dismissed each year, in-service vetting was being ramped up. This would include gardaí being drug tested, and their bank accounts being checked for unusual activity, he said.

Any Garda member who applied for a post in a specialist unit – including sexual and domestic violence, national security and organised crime, among others – would be closely examined in a fresh vetting process.

The era of Garda members being vetted when they applied to join the force, and then never being checked closely again, was coming to an end, Kelly said, once the legislation providing for the changes was finalised and enacted.

“At the moment you can go through 40 years’ service (in the Garda) and you are never vetted again,” Kelly told a public meeting of the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA) in Dublin on Thursday.

Revealing the number of Garda members convicted from 2024-2025 at 14, Kelly said mid-career, or in-service, vetting was being introduced to weed out problem members of the force.

In the case of Garda members seeking roles in very specialist areas of policing and security, it was crucial the Garda ensured there was “nothing in their background that has emerged since they joined the organisation that would be a cause for concern”.

He said in some cases Garda members first came to the attention of the authorities within the force after complaints were made. Significant concerns emerged when even very basic checks were made, such as reviewing their social media accounts.

As a result, he said, it was imperative to make those social media checks part of in-service vetting – and to go much further. This would include checking the financial backgrounds of gardaí at different times through their careers.

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Kelly said drug testing, which has been promised for years, was also close to being finalised once the legislation was in place.

PCSA chair Elaine Byrne said drug testing for Garda members should not be regarded as “controversial” in any way. She pointed out that many workers, including in construction, were tested for drugs as a condition of their employment. Also, gardaí were testing drivers for drink and drugs “every day of the week”.

Kelly agreed, but said in-career vetting and drug testing, when combined and introduced around the same time, represented a “sea change” in the Garda culture.

The change in vetting, for example, was very significant as it would involve long-standing members of the Garda having their bank accounts and other financial records checked as part of the process when they were applying for new jobs within the force.