Prison Officer

portumna

Mick990 wrote: »

Hey Lads,

I'm getting a little worried here about my bmi. When i went for my medical it was
32 I know its high but the doc at the time said it wasn't really anything to worry about because i've a fair bit of muscle as well as well as the fuel tank. I've been training hard since then and i've knocked nearly half a stone off and with the sprint training I reckon ill have a lot more off and will more then likely come in under 30. So i am wondering will they look at the original 32 and cross me off or will they give me another chance to weigh in or just see how the medical goes ??


Also just heard the Minister for Defence has lifted the ban on recruitment for Gardai os i doubt we will be waiting much longer

Mine came in at 31.9 and was told by the doc that i'd be fine because i'm carrying a fair bit of muscle. I was also carrying about 3 litres of water and was fully dressed with heavy boots on. It's not a proper assessment of your bmi it's just a guide to go by.

Taxipete29

BMI is very limited. Whats Paul O'Connels BMI for example?? Doubt its under 30

Mine was 31 and Doctor looked at me, laughed and said according to this your obese. I dont think so.

Mick990

Cheers thanks lads i feel alot better now . The Doc did tell me not to worry because as far as he was concerned it was one of the stupidest things to come about in medicine . Funnily enough he too used the Paul o Connell arguement and told me i was considered obese which in his words was laughable.


Also a dumbass moment by me earlier its obviously the Minister for Justice that announced the recruit ban was being lifted and not the Minister for Defence like i had stated . Sorry lads

Jobhunter09

Hi lads,

Just a quick question about the 40 * 15m shuttle runs. Do I remember reading in one of the booklets that the this involved running forwards and BACKWARDS between the two points??

LoanShark

Hi Jobhunter..

It just means running over and back 40 times..
If you had to run backwards you'd never make the time limit..

Jobhunter09

Hi Loanshark,

I went looking for where I thought I saw this info and I found this on the prison sercive website

(i) Running/carrying Tests
Aerobic Test : This tests cardiovascular endurance, and simulates running
around a building, with constant changes of direction.
This test involves running backwards and forwards between two points 15
metres apart. The test involves 40 continuous shuttle runs to give a total distance
of 600 metres. You must complete this test in 210 seconds (3 mins 30 seconds)

or less.

The word backwords is mentioned on this.....

LoanShark

Taxipete29 wrote: »

BMI is very limited. Whats Paul O'Connels BMI for example?? Doubt its under 30

.

Out of sheer bordem I worked this out..

Paul O Connell has a BMI of 28.6
Jerry Flannery has a BMI of 30.9
Brian O Driscoll has a BMI of 30.0
Cian Healy has a BMI of 32.8


TOLD YOU I WAS BORED....!

LoanShark

Jobhunter09 wrote: »

Hi Loanshark,

I went looking for where I thought I saw this info and I found this on the prison sercive website

(i) Running/carrying Tests

Aerobic Test : This tests cardiovascular endurance, and simulates running
around a building, with constant changes of direction.
This test involves running backwards and forwards between two points 15
metres apart. The test involves 40 continuous shuttle runs to give a total distance
of 600 metres. You must complete this test in 210 seconds (3 mins 30 seconds)

or less.

The word backwords is mentioned on this.....

Fcuk!! If that is the case it's just made the whole shuttle thing a bit harder...
I am not disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing..BUT, can you imagine ten lads in a row doing their shuttle runs backwards?? We'd all trip and end up in a heap!

This is what I would imagine we'd have to do....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEsjYisHvk0&feature=related

Jobhunter09

LoanShark wrote: »

Fcuk!! If that is the case it's just made the whole shuttle thing a bit harder...
I am not disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing..BUT, can you imagine ten lads in a row doing their shuttle runs backwards?? We'd all trip and end up in a heap!

I do this dril in my basketball training called a 6-4-6 and basically its running the lenght of a bball court 6 times(up and back been 2) then 4 times backwards then 6 running straight again.

Its similar to what you said 10 lads running beside eachother going backwards but suprisingly it never gets that tricky and you dont loose as much speed or time as you would think espescially between two marks as short as 15m.

Taxipete29

Guys I can clarify you do not have to run backwards. Its running back and forth between 2 points. The idea is to simulate running around a building, sharp turns etc. I cant invisage any scenario working in a prison that would require you to run backwards unless you were dragging someone

Jobhunter09

Taxipete29 wrote: »

Guys I can clarify you do not have to run backwards. Its running back and forth between 2 points. The idea is to simulate running around a building, sharp turns etc. I cant invisage any scenario working in a prison that would require you to run backwards unless you were dragging someone

Cheers Pete

fleecymanager

not looking good for me lads, got a letter the other day saying that because i did not do english or irish while i was in collage that i won't be let through, i have a FETAC level 6 advanced in my trade, and about 18 years work exp, i have passed all the tests and the interview and to be now told that i need a leaving in english or im out.............what a load of bo***x...........the funny thing is that at the end of your two years of traning ye to will have a level 6 FETAC cert, all be it in a different subject, the FOUR years i spent on the job and in collage means f**K all in todays job market...............sorry for the rant but just needed to get that of my chest......and best of luck to those who do go on to get the job.....fleecy

Jobhunter09

Fleecy this might be completely impossible idea but just a thought, could you apply to sit the ordinary level english leaving cert exam this year. I would assume you need to cover a certain amount of the sylibis to do so but you could get a special exemtion on that or something, its only a handful of years since I've done it and 40%(a pass) could be very easily done with a bit of work.

Like I said this could be completely impossible but surley worth one last shot....

fleecymanager

thought of that but the pas said that i had to have done the exam before oct 08:( but keep the ideas coming lads. i would hate to find out in a few months time that there was something that i could have done to get the job and not to have done it , im not trying to start a row with the pas i just want to make sure i have all avenues tried

Crocop legend

Fleece I heard something about that too,its a new thing apparently.Maybe talk to your local Td and see if they can find out if they can do anything?On another note can anyone confirm the yearly pay for recruit prison ofiicers?I just heard it's been dropped to 19k per year,which is f***in terrible?maybe one of the lads who recently got in the job can confirm,thanks.

fedor.2

heard the same crocop,any classes going in this year will be starting on 19 grand,if you have to rent in dublin on top of a mortgage it may not be worth your while

Crocop legend

Yeah fedor trying to confirm this to be 100%.Have rang around and spoke to a friend of mine who is very high up in the prison service and he hadn't heard anything of the sort but 2 friends of mine who are officers within the last 2 years said the latest group to come out of beladd are on the 19k band.From what I hear so far,it's for the first year,kind of as a trial period and then after the first 12 months it goes up to what it has been.Another way of saving money for the gov but yet when we applied for the job back in 08 the advertisement says 23k so its cruel if its true.I'll know more on mon eve so i'll keep posted.As you said,terrible for folks who have to rent AND pay a mortgage.Not worth the hassle :mad:

Mick990

Hey Lads I don't think this is true . When I rang to confrim i was attending the interview day I was told that the salary was down to 21k from 24k because of Levies and i had to confirm i was ok with this before i attended the interview.

My figures might be off here because i can t really remember fully but know it was definitly 20k+

Lawros Tache

As a serving officer i can confirm that the entry level wages have been reduced dramatically (as have everyone elses...) but the latest recruits have told me personally that they are coming out with "under €400 per week".
I should add that it is common knowledge within the service (unofficially from union sources) that from the next group onwards they will indeed be on €19k p.a. but have no official confirmation of this. It makes sense though as the IPS have demanded €21m in wage savings. Even if you take the starting wage given above of €21k, this gives a take home of €378 per week while €19k gives take home of €345 so there's very little difference really!

I know that i for one would never have been able to afford to take the job if those were the conditions when i started, especially when you take into account running a car, rent, mortgage and family committments, never mind life's little luxuries like eating!...

Jobhunter09

Would anyone else on here waiting on the call seriously have trouble living on that kinda money, like said in an earlier post money was never the reason for applying for this job but bills have to be paid.

Also Lawros, no disrespect to your comment but to say that "there's very little difference really!" between 19K and 21K is very suprising, your talking about a couple of mortgage payments there like it was a bit of change in your pocket something.....

hangman2010

Hey guys, just wondering does anyone know how the €4000 rent allowance works and also the operational allowance. Does it apply to everyone or is it hard to get? Just think the salary cut would be manageable if we could all avail of these allowances.

Lawros Tache

Jobhunter09 wrote: »

Also Lawros, no disrespect to your comment but to say that "there's very little difference really!" between 19K and 21K is very suprising, your talking about a couple of mortgage payments there like it was a bit of change in your pocket something.....

I dont see where i said it would be easy? In fact if you actually read my post then you'll see that i said i wouldn't have been able to manage on that money myself.

As i said in my post, the difference in take home between the two is €32 per week... It seems to me that if your lifestyle is such that you think you can manage on the €378 then i'm sure you could manage on the €345. You however seem to feel that the difference between the two is quite substantial. If this is the case then obviously the job is not for you because those are the figures you would be dealing with.

I posted a couple of pages back suggesting that with the new conditions in place that this job may not be suitable for everyone, with the new contracts for new recruits it's certainly not the golden goose that some people on here seem to think it is, dont shoot the messenger.

NOVICE-REFURB

hangman2010 wrote: »

Hey guys, just wondering does anyone know how the €4000 rent allowance works and also the operational allowance. Does it apply to everyone or is it hard to get? Just think the salary cut would be manageable if we could all avail of these allowances.

Salary is €19k plus 8% operations allowance + rent of €1400, that was the salary on the last contract to leave HR ( rang them yesterday

youngsam

NOVICE-REFURB wrote: »

Salary is €19k plus 8% operations allowance + rent of €1400, that was the salary on the last contract to leave HR ( rang them yesterday

Paying a mortgage and renting in Dublin is going to be near impossible on that salary. If I am lucky enough to get the job, hopefully my bank manager will go easy on me for a few years!

hotter

youngsam wrote: »

Paying a mortgage and renting in Dublin is going to be near impossible on that salary. If I am lucky enough to get the job, hopefully my bank manager will go easy on me for a few years!

If that starting salary is correct it is very hard to see why one would even be bothered accepting this job .When you add up your costs you could be running at a loss for example your rent alone will cost between 280 to 400 per month plus house bills,transport costs,mortage etc.

Taxipete29

While the salary is obviously alot less than it was when we applied I for one will be still happy to accept the job should it be offered. I thankfully have no dependants, mortgage though. I can see it would be a huge struggle for someone with a family.

I do have to say that there are very few jobs now that would pay the required salary to pay rent AND a mortgage.

portumna

Got a letter today from the civil service occupational health department.

It Reads:

Dear portumna,

An appointment has been aranged for you to attend the occupational health department on (date) @ (time) for a weight check on a body composition analysing weighing scales and a step test for fitness.

The instructions for this test are as follows:

No intense exercise on the day of the test
No smoking for at least 2 hours before the test
No tea, coffee, or caffeine drinks for 4 hours prior to the test
Do not drink any alcohol for 2 days prior to the test
Wear loose fitting comfortable clothing on the day such as a tracksuit.

If these instructions are not followed a further appointment may have to arranged.

Sincerely,

Occupational health nurse.



My BMI was 31.9 on the day soi i presumed i'd have to get this done. I'd say that the PCT could be done by the end of the month.

Taxipete29

Portumna, what date did you do your initial medical on??

portumna

Taxipete29 wrote: »

Portumna, what date did you do your initial medical on??

Did the medical on 12th april. The date on the letter i got today is 28th april.

NOVICE-REFURB

portumna wrote: »

Got a letter today from the civil service occupational health department.

It Reads:

Dear portumna,

An appointment has been aranged for you to attend the occupational health department on (date) @ (time) for a weight check on a body composition analysing weighing scales and a step test for fitness.

The instructions for this test are as follows:

No intense exercise on the day of the test
No smoking for at least 2 hours before the test
No tea, coffee, or caffeine drinks for 4 hours prior to the test
Do not drink any alcohol for 2 days prior to the test
Wear loose fitting comfortable clothing on the day such as a tracksuit.

If these instructions are not followed a further appointment may have to arranged.

Sincerely,

Occupational health nurse.



My BMI was 31.9 on the day soi i presumed i'd have to get this done. I'd say that the PCT could be done by the end of the month.

Yikes !!! Mine was 31, but the doc said i was fine!!