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THE DECISION TO allow alterations be made to the garda uniform for religious and ethnic reasons has been welcomed by a number of groups today.
Under the changes, gardaí will allow the wearing of the turban for members of the Sikh community and the hijab for Muslims.
An Garda Síochána said it has identified such matters as a major barrier to some people considering becoming a Garda member.
The decision made by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris comes as the force today opened a recruitment competition for Garda trainees, which will remain open until 3pm on 24 April.
The recruitment drive is being advertised under the slogan ‘The Difference is You’.
Garda Trainee Recruitment: We are looking for people who thrive on keeping people safe. Policing is a highly rewarding career where every day you can make a difference to the lives of individuals and communities. https://t.co/d8tXmzruRbpic.twitter.com/CR0uUr9PNO
“We also know that we need to become a much more diverse organisation so that we properly reflect the society we serve. That’s why our campaign is focusing on people who might not have previously considered a career as a Garda member,” Harris said.
“We want to encourage people from all walks of life to join us. We are looking for diversity not only in background, but also in skills,” he said.
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‘Step towards integration’
The Muslims Sisters of Éire said it wishes to “acknowledge and celebrate” the decision that the wearing of the turban and the hijab will be allowed.
“It is a step towards integration and societal cohesion when our policing forces are welcome to visually represent people of all backgrounds, faiths and none,” the group said.
Especially in times of increasing tear towards Muslims, welcoming Muslim gardaí force members to keep their religious attire can greatly assist in irradiating Islamophobic attitudes and discrimination towards people of faith.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland tweeted that the decision is “really encouraging news”.
Meanwhile, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) has described Harris’ decision as a “useful measure”.
“We welcome any reasonable measure such as the relaxation of rules on uniform to facilitate recruitment of people from non-Christian backgrounds – and are open to other approaches for bringing people born outside Ireland into the force irrespective of their religion or ethnicity,” GRA General Secretary Pat Ennis said.
The new approach being taken by An Garda Síochána is in line with that adopted by police services such as the PSNI, Police Scotland, New Zealand Police, NYPD, and other police services in UK, Australia and Canada.
An Garda Síochána is also carrying out research with communities who are under-represented in the force to identify what more the organisation needs to do to encourage them to join either as a Garda member, Garda staff or Garda reserve.
Garda trainee candidates can apply on www.publicjobs.ie until 3pm on 24 April.
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Worlds most pressing problem? Collapse of our climate with the wholesale implosion of earths ecosystems within 50-70 years, so long & thanks for the great party
I know Graham – talk about the elephant in the room – all other concerns are transient, but if we continue to destroy the environment, plants and animals that support life on earth and bring climate change on our heads that will be IRREVERSIBLE and will have catastrophic effects, as flora and fauna will not have the time to evolve and adapt, then the rest is pretty trivial in comparison. Sigh.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/25/frozen-spring-arctic-sea-ice-loss
Read this about how global warming and melting ice is actually messing with the Gulf Stream, and that causes weather patterns (such as the current cold one) to get locked in for a long period. Weather havoc is not going to be good for all the minutely inter-connected relationships between plants, insects and animals that are essential to our very survival.
Thanks for that Michelle, more depressing reading confirming the obvious. At this stage sadly it’s not about averting the disaster of climate change but how best to cope as a species confronted with problems that make war & famine look l. The political solution to this seems to be diverting the public attention towards comparatively trifling issues such as the economy or national security.
Lack of real regulation in the world banking system. Trillions of leveraged unsecured derivatives in the system. Reckless uncontroled Quantitative easing which will eventually come back to haunt. These have the potential to disrupt the system and even lead to wars long term. We are witnessing the runaway train of wealth transfer on a grand scale. Time for citizens to wake up, educate themselves and understand what’s really happening behind the curtain.
The financial sector may have regulations, but my god man they are not enforced. Do some research on the shadow banking system and then tell me what you feel about it. I could care less about a few Irish pee on banks. I speak of investment banks and hedge funds which are parasites within a casino based Ponzi system which will eventually implode under its own leverage.
Worlds most pressing problem…..how do they get the figs in the fig rolls…(don’t mean to sound flippant but come on its a bank holiday weekend let us take a break from misery it will All still be there Tuesday
The First world problem will be energy, that will effect food prices, economies…
The third world problem is fresh water, that will effect food production…
but the single biggest thing is climate change…that’s effects water,food, economies, societies…
At the end of the day the most pressing issue is global warming, everything else that would be considered a problem is only small when compared to how bad our climate will become if we don’t resolve the problem.
Would have thought food security and available potable water. I think water will start next Indo-Pak war, and pit state vs state in a war for access to it!
Climate change is the biggest danger and it’s disappointing to see that much of the world’s population isn’t appropriately concerned. There won’t be an economy to worry about if we destroy the environment which sustains us. And if you think social disorder is bad now, wait until people start fighting over dwindling space, food etc.
Climate change isn’t really a pressing matter as it doesn’t affect us on a day to day basis. The damage done now to the Eco system won’t affect us significantly for decades (I do agree that by the time we feel the affects it may be too late to do anything about it)
Able bodied people parking in disabled parking bays. I saw a car parked last week taking up two disabled bays female driver was talking on her phone. Would not move for me to park.
Each country faces its own specific set of problems. Each person faces his or her own set of problems. For people to get on here and try to pin those problems down is a pointless task.
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