[Sunday Times: Mark Tighe] “At least 140 trainee Gardai have been unable to progress in their careers since September 2019 after failing basic fitness tests. Most were unable to complete a “bleep test” involving shuttle runs of 20 metres”. That headline though, it is a journos *chefs kiss*

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  9. I remember reading this last week, the last paragraph of this mentioned some ban garda who is into fitness, think they did marathons or cycling that they did well in but still failed the beep test.

    If I recall, the framing of the article made me think the fitness wasn’t the issue it was the implementation or intensity it was set to that was causing failures. They mentioned other fitness tests were being passed without issue. Not enough detail to reaaaaaalllyy know what was going on though under the hood only speculating

  11. This is one of those instances where the headline is eye catching and appears to be about one thing but isn’t really what these cases are about:

    https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/decision-to-dismiss-probationary-garda-over-fitness-test-quashed-by-high-court-1150522.html

    While this is a different case to one referenced in the OP, I assume it’s arguing the same thing.

    To pull from the above article (emphasis mine):

    >… In February 2020, the Garda Commissioner notified her of his decision to “dispense with her services” after she had failed fitness tests six times.

    >Mr Justice Max Barrett noted she plays camogie in her local team, does long distance charity cycles and attained a level of fitness that would be “the envy of many”, but unfortunately sustained an injury and she failed the fitness tests, which ultimately resulted in her dismissal…

    >… In an interim judgment quashing the decision, the judge also granted her a declaration the Commissioner had misapplied and/or misconstrued the relevant provisions of the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 2013.

    >… Through that misapplication, **the Commissioner did not act lawfully when he proceeded under a particular regulation rather than another which meant he unlawfully used her purported probationary period to facilitate a purpose or objective not authorised by the regulations of 2013**, he said. That meant she was dismissed as a probationer garda when she was no longer a probationer….

    >In her action, Ms Fahy said she was studying for a BA in Applied policing but after failing a fitness test she was told last February that **as she was now ineligible to complete the BA course, this was “an essential prerequisite” to becoming a garda.**

    >**She claims there is no provision in the garda regulations entitling the Commissioner to deem the attainment of the BA is an essential prerequisite.**

    In short, the Garda Commissioner tried to use certain parts of legislation as grounds to dismiss her that he was not entitled to use. The last bit of bolded text above is the jist of her complaint in plain English.

    Presumably, because this garda was successful at this stage of her case, this is why there’s now a slew of these cases.

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