The decision to award a part-time firefighter €8,000 in compensation after she failed a fitness test is “absolutely outrageous”, a former Garda Sergeant has argued.
In 2023, the woman, who was then 43 and working part-time for the fire service, failed to advance through a recruitment competition for a full-time position after she failed a beep test.
The beep test is a timed run between two points, which a candidate must complete between two ‘beep’ sounds. Progressively, the time between the bleeps gets shorter.
The test is a standard measure of physical fitness and is also used by An Garda Síochána as part of its recruitment process.
The Workplace Relations Commission agreed that holding the applicant to the same physical fitness standard as a 20 year old male was discriminatory on grounds of age and gender. It ruled that Cork City Council should pay her €8,000 in compensation.
On Newstalk Breakfast, former Garda Sergeant Christy Galligan said the beep test is part of the recruitment process for a reason.
“At the end of the day, if you're a firefighter or a member of the Garda Síochána, you have to have to provide an acceptable level of fitness,” he said.
“And it has to be reflective of the physical demands of the job; it has to be robust enough to meet the demands of the job as well.
“And candidates are not meeting the requirements in relation to the tests that are set.”
Mr Galligan continued that the level of fitness required of candidates is not especially high.
“I find it extraordinary that the comparator was made with a 20 year old male against a 43 year old female who was making an application for permanency in the car fire brigades,” he said.
“I just find it absolutely incredulous.
“I was talking to a number of people involved in PE and physical education in schools, what they call the ‘yo-yo test’, which is similar to the beep test, that you have to reach a level that most of them reach a level of 14.”
In 2025, the recruitment process for An Garda Síochána was updated with a revised Physical Competency Test.
While the fitness requirements were relaxed, the beep test remains a component.
Main image: Firefighters in Cork. Picture by: Alamy.com.
