Some 600 new gardaí are to be recruited next year.

The Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has opened a recruitment campaign for 2016.

It will bring to 1,150 the number of new recruits since September 2014.

The new candidates will begin at the Garda College in Templemore from the middle of next year.

"I encourage all those interested in joining An Garda Síochána to access the website of the Public Appointments Service and submit their application at www.publicjobs.ie", Minister Fitzgerald said.

"In particular, I urge members of minority and new communities to consider applying so that the membership of An Garda Síochána will reflect the diverse communities that it serves".

While the Garda Commissioner says she hopes to see more women join the force.

Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan said that when she joined An Garda Síochána, she was one of a tiny minority of women.

She also welcomed the fact that a quarter of gardaí are now female.