Defence Forces googling job applicants due to slow Garda vetting process
The Defence Forces are having to Google job applicants because the Garda vetting process is too slow.
It means new troops are trained in explosives, advanced weaponry and tactics before it is known whether or not they have a criminal record or connections to criminal gangs.
Basic training time has also been reduced in a bid to reverse the exodus of personnel from the Defence Forces.
Brendan Smith, Chairman of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said they do not want any weaknesses in Defence Forces recuitment.
"We know that there are undesirables out there. There was at effort one stage in the 1970s for some undesirables to try to get into the FCA, as it was at the time," he said.
"We don't want any weakness in the recruitment of the Defence Forces that could be exploited by paramilitary groups or other thugs or criminals."
