17,00o people applied to join An Garda Síochána but new figures show only one in 28 will get a position.
The Irish Times reports that figures released by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) show that 17,000 applicants applied with only 600 jobs up for grabs.
Although this figure sounds astronomical, it is down on last year when 23,000 applied for only 550 positions.
The deadline for those hoping to apply has now passed and the PAS will now begin to test the hopeful candidates.
This process involves four stages: two rounds of online testing, a supervised exam and an interview.
