Prison Officer

LoanShark

Just been on to the IPS and the guy said that they have about 100 left from the 2007 panel and that if they get the go ahead to proceed with another class this year it is likely that they would break into the 2008 panel for candidates!!!
He said at the moment that things are all up in the air and that anything could happen very quickly!!

recruit po

Has anyone that started on Monday been on yet? Just wondering what they think of the training and if they'd any news for the rest of us?

megranny

gar23 wrote: »

I didn get to start till wednesday.two people didn turn up so i got a phone call on monday asking if i could come down on wednesday.it was bit of rush but was well worth it.there is talk that their trying to get another group down in next few weeks.if they dont bring another group down before christmas then they def will soon after cause their opening the new wing in wheatfield.so just keep ringing the prison service.if i hear anything il get back on an let yous know

Gar23 that is brill good on yeah,id say you were a happy man when that phone rang!!! There are some of us down there tomoro doing the PCT,when did you do your PCT?did you wait long then to be called?

tommy57

stupid question whats the number of the ips i tried the website number c,ant get through. cheers

tommy57

the rest of the 07 panel will be processed within the next 2 weeks. Rang them yesterday thats what i was told. So anyone like me waiting for clearance ,pct etc. We will know latest next week. obviously they want to clear 07 and get moving on the 08 panel.

Leo Demidov

More out of interest than necessity, does anyone know any of the following

Do the IPS investigate your medical history re; your GP etc

Is the background check as thorough as that for Gardai

Is there any sense of achievement as a PO, is it a stress inducing mess or both


Thanks

tommy57

d,ont think they are as tough as guards think its immediate family. the guards is all your relations as well as family. as for gp take it because of the medical we had they would,nt be to interested .its a check to see are you a security risk if you were a prison officer.

tommy57

how did people get on monday regards their fitness test.

megranny

tommy57 wrote: »

how did people get on monday regards their fitness test.

Hey tommy57 fitness test was tough i was in the first group and every one passed i think they was 10 or 12 in the group not sure how the 2nd group got on,hopefully they all passed too. Start doing the 40 shuttles cos they are a bloody killer and they are at the end of the test.

tommy57

fair play.well done everyone so.

kilkennny

tommy57 wrote: »

how did people get on monday regards their fitness test.

Hay tommy57
ya i did the fitness test monday too was in the same group as megranny and them shuttle runs are a killer, if your still waiting for the pct make sure you do the runs in the 15 meters and 40 times its really the only sure way you have in knowing if your doing them in time.

jason99

Its getting quite around here.How are the new recruits in portlaoise getting on?Any news for the rest of us?????

Rock99

Hi probably a silly question but does anyone know if another recuritment campaign is planned in the near future?

tommy57

Rock99 wrote: »

Hi probably a silly question but does anyone know if another recuritment campaign is planned in the near future?

hows it going man theres still people from the 07 recruitment on this thread and then you have lads from the 08 recruitment still waiting on interviews.I doubt the prison service will have another recruitment within the next 3 years at least .

Scatman81

Guys how many people that post here are on the '07 panel? im thinking megranny.kilkenny and tommy57 anybody else??it seems the guys that started 3 weeks ago have abandoned us!!Their 9 weeks training finishes the end of oct so there might be a class starting before xmas!??:(

tommy57

Alright man i tried getting a thread going regards that question and no replies. think as you said the usual suspects think dropsey is another one though he may of started a few weeks ago. i,m defo one anyway.

Scatman81

Tommy let me know when you hear about the clearance and when you do make sure to ask them your number on the panel and when you could start!you might as well ask them for next weeks lotto numbers:o

megranny

hey lads yes im 07 and killkennny is aswell,when we did are PCT test one of the officers said that they hope to get the go ahead for another class in oct but that is not DEFO yet,as they have to get clearnce first from finance. As for the security clearence,if i was you,i would get on the phone in the morning and start asking MAJOR questions,its a joke it takes so long,and you are missing out on places cos it is taken so long.

tommy57

supposedly all the 07 were meant to be processed last week.but you would,nt know whats happening .on the garda recruitment someone reckons 60 more prison officers are going to be trained before xmas so who knows.

portumna

Announced yesterday by Dermot Ahern. Even more light to give us hope.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0915/justice.html

tommy57

got an email back off ips and they said they are currently going through applications from 07 regarding our applications but to rest assured tht when their processed we,ll know. trying to be positive at least we know their been looked at. hopefully this helps people in the same situation as me.

megranny

anyone got anymore news on whats going on?? its gone very Quite in here.

kilkennny

hey megranny, no news still hoping that it wont be long more you would nearly be temped to ring the ips and see if they had any news

Scatman81

Hey guys you will prob get the same old reply from the ips.If the next class starts the end of oct how much notice do you think we will get??

megranny

i think the last class that start got about 3 weeks notice i think or just a little under that. i wish they would hurry up and let us know when we will start.

recruit po

Gone very quiet here lads, anyone heard anything?
Any of the lads that went in in Sept been on?

megranny

I rang the IPS the other day,all i know is that im in the next group to start training,the lady on the phone said that they have applyed for finance for us so they are waiting for the go ahead from them. The group who started in sept are nearly finished i think.

spursfan79

Im just wondering if any guys in the 07 group know if they the last of that recruitment?? Also if you get through interview and tests, how long could it be before you get started on training?? Im on the 08 list and awaiting interview but nothin moving on it...

bano12

hello, im part of the 07 recruitment. ive giving up hope of ever being called so im just trying to forget about it. with the way the economy is gone i could be waiting another two yrs.

megranny

spursfan79 wrote: »

Im just wondering if any guys in the 07 group know if they the last of that recruitment?? Also if you get through interview and tests, how long could it be before you get started on training?? Im on the 08 list and awaiting interview but nothin moving on it...

Hey spursfan79,i did my interview in july last year and medical in Aug i think it was last year as well,then i got called for my fitness test in sept just gone,and im just waiting now to be called for training. It is a VERY long wait alright.

megranny

bano12 wrote: »

hello, im part of the 07 recruitment. ive giving up hope of ever being called so im just trying to forget about it. with the way the economy is gone i could be waiting another two yrs.

Have you got your security check back yet bano12??? or have you done your fitness test yet?

tommy57

same boat man 15 months waiting on security clearance

Scatman81

bano12 wrote: »

hello, im part of the 07 recruitment. ive giving up hope of ever being called so im just trying to forget about it. with the way the economy is gone i could be waiting another two yrs.

Lad if you have passed everything on the '07 you wont be waiting anywhere near 2 years so keep the faith.The current group in training finish the end of the month so we should know more then....

bano12

I rang them about 2 months ago and I didnt have sercurity clearance so I haven't been called for fitness test either. So its probably going to be next year sometime before I get any news. anyone else in 07??

spursfan79

megranny wrote: »

Hey spursfan79,i did my interview in july last year and medical in Aug i think it was last year as well,then i got called for my fitness test in sept just gone,and im just waiting now to be called for training. It is a VERY long wait alright.

thanks for that megranny! thats unreal...i think ill come back and log on in 6 months and see how things moving!:(

megranny

tommy57 wrote: »

same boat man 15 months waiting on security clearance

Tommy57 have you rang the IPS and asked them what the story is with that, i thought i was bad waiting just over a year for mine.bloody hell if i was you i would be going mad. Dont bother with the public jobs they couldn care.

tommy57

yeah man rang them and i was told that the the rest of the lads from 07 had to be processed within 2 weeks and that was 6 weeks ago. I think they just fog you off when if they told you were you stood it would be a bit better,

hotter

try waiting over six years like some of us had to while they tried to get the new low rate of pay in for rpos

megranny

hotter wrote: »

try waiting over six years like some of us had to while they tried to get the new low rate of pay in for rpos

Hey hotter bloody hell 6 years now that is a long wait,bloody hell im thinking you win the waiting game!!!!!!

hotter

I don't think that you will be waiting as long as us due to the fact that large numbers of staff retiring will have to be replaced plus they will require more staff for the extra prison spaces that will be due to come on line soon

recruit po

Hopefully things will get moving again and the rest of the 07 lads can go in so that things will get moving for us 08 lads.

Has anyone heard how many PO's are due to retire?

th hen

hi i heard another 30 gone for fitness test in beladd this week. may or may not be true. a lot of retirements due in next year and think the ban on recruiting has been lifted. just be careful because if you are not from dublin you will be years waiting to get back to cork/midlands/castlerea etc.i got back in 4 years but i was one of the lucky ones. take it from someone in the job the job is going downhill fast and if we get anymore paycuts it wont be worth doing the job. i leave at 7am every morning and get home at 9pm. just forget about seeing your kids on you due days. if the government has their way we will work for 400 or 500 a week. is it worth it to work 14hr days and deal with everything from prisoners cutting their throats, attempted hangings, stabbing, riots, getting attacked....... dont get me wrong your not killed out working but when you are called into working expect anything. join now you will be on bout 900 a fortnight but remember you will be posted to a dublin jail for sure and rent will be 300-450 a month plus travel expense when you do go home. people give out public sector too well paid but who wants to live away from home put in 12hr+ days on fri/sat/sun and realise every year you are getting a paycut !!! also try to stay away from mountjoy. i have not worked there but from stories from friends control has been lost in the jail and its a dangerous place of work. hope this helps and does not put you off too much just trying to show you what you are in for and then ya can see if its still for you.

Shield

Paragraphs. Moderators like them.

recruit po

Thanks for the insight th hen, but I think all us lads that have applied know it’s a dangerous job. No one is going in with their eyes closed, it's a tough job but at the end of the day it’s a job. But thanks for the honesty of your post.

I'm fortunate enough to live in Dublin and want a Dublin jail. To those of you that are living outside Dublin, take note of what th hen says, it is tough being away from family/friends and the expense of commuting to Dublin works out very expensive. I’ve done the commuting thing, never again.

Personally I'd prefer to be earning a living of some kind, be that €400/€500 per week than living on a social welfare payment, that is likely to get cut in December’s budget. I was told last week that my job is gone after Christmas so I’ve the joy of looking forward to joining the dole queue. At least if I get into the Prison Service I know I'll have a pension at the end of it all.

th hen

oh believe me between dole nad a job you would take it in a heartbeat but the public has this view that prison officers get paid huge money and do nothing. this is not the truth. a new pay structure was brought in 4 years ago and it takes 6 or 7 years before you get on good pay. the day of a po earning 100k is gone, long gone, but you will get paid well in the future but realise pay cuts are on the way and the pension is in for a big hit also.
its a perfect job if from dublin as no travelling for you. as for danger it is dangerous but i can honestly say i never feared for my safety as most prisoners dont wanna attack officers we just get in the way breaking up fights. i just wanna highlight to anyone looking or joining dont be fooled by the public opinion that we get paid huge money and do f all. management in the priso service spend more time trying to repremand us than prisoners........ we are easier targets !!!

plas69

any news on a class before christmass. im number 36 at the moment

megranny

no new yet on a new group going is, would i be right in thinking that the group that are training at the mo is finished next week???

kilkennny

hey there megranny, ya i think your right about the group they should be finished about now alrite, i was going to ask the question has anyone rang the ips lately to see if they got funding would be great to know whats going on, can anyone shed light on it for us?

hotter

I heard the current class completed their training on friday 16/10/09

plas69

I was talking to them 2 weeks ago and they said they were waiting on word from the dept of finance to give the go ahead.Does anyone on this thread know if they're in the next class? they're taking in 40