INTEGRATION MINISTER Conor Lenihan appears to be backing Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy’s current stance on not allowing the incorporation of religious dress into the Garda uniform.
He said he has spoken to Commissioner Conroy about the issue, and that the force is presently “formulating their view on ethnic forms of headgear”. He said the Comm-issioner assured him he would be meeting members of the Sikh community to discuss the issue in order to “arrive at something that works”.
However, Minister Lenihan added that “people have to understand that we have our ways of doing things”, referring to the fact that when Irish politicians and the President venture to Middle Eastern countries, the religious and/or cultural dress code is observed.
“It’s a vice versa situation, I would have thought, with regard to Ireland,” he concluded.
Metro Eireann exclusively reported last month that a Sikh man training to be a Garda Reservist was told he could not commence station duty without replacing his turban with a Garda cap. The turban is a religious head garment which is compulsory for all practising Sikh males. One Sikh source told Metro Eireann it would be “sacreligious” to remove the garment.
Police forces such as the London Metropolitan Police allow their Sikh officers to wear a turban matching the force’s uniform pattern and incorporating the organisation’s insignia.
However, when acknowledging this, Minister Lenihan contended that there is a “trend away from allowing ethnic headgear”.
Metro Eireann understands that if a compromise is not reached between the Garda Commissioner and Sikh representatives, the Sikh community will not be dropping the matter.
Meanwhile, in reference to the low number of ethnic minority gardai to enter the force’s ranks, Minister Lenihan has said that English language problems have been a major obstacle for potential foreign recruits. Only 11 out of over 1,000 students in training are ethnic minorities.
Despite this, he complimented the force’s “determination” to recruit ethnic minorities, and strongly suggested that the civil service should follow suit.
