Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
GARDA MANAGEMENT FEARED Sikh members of the force could win discrimination cases over the restriction on wearing a turban with their uniform, an internal report has revealed.
In April An Garda Síochána announced a decision to allow alterations to be made to the uniform for religious and ethnic reasons. Under the changes, the wearing of the turban for members of the Sikh community and the hijab for Muslims is now allowed.
The announcement was made as the force opened a new recruitment competition, which was advertised under the slogan ‘The Difference is You’.
An internal report, obtained under Freedom of Information by Noteworthy, the investigative journalism platform from TheJournal.ie, was completed in March this year by Chief Superintendent Tony McLoughlin.
As part of his report, he explored the case law around prohibiting the wearing of the turban, including a case taken by a garda reserve applicant who was a member of the Sikh community.
The man had attended training in the Garda College in Templemore and when he went to collect his uniform he was told the turban could not be worn with it. The garda reserve took a discrimination case to the Equality Tribunal and then to the High Court in 2013.
His case failed due to the fact that he was not considered an employee under the Employment Equality Act – a garda reserve is an unpaid volunteer.
In his report, Chief Superintendent McLoughlin noted that the employment acts would apply to a member of the Sikh community who applied to be a full time member of the force. A decision not to allow the turban, he said, “could be seen as discriminatory due to the manifest nature of the turban as part of the religion”.
‘Cultural change’
He explained that the importance of the turban to a Sikh goes back in history, where “turban wearing Sikhs have preferred death and torture to having their turban removed or their hair cut”.
The report also pointed out that there was already one exemption to the general ban on symbols and adornments. In 1923, then Garda Commissioner Eoin O’Duffy allowed garda members to wear the pin of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart, in a bid to encourage them to join.
McLoughlin suggested that increased diversity in An Garda Síochána can “make it more open to cultural change and more responsive” to the diverse community it serves.
Research indicates that when the public believe that the police serve and understand them, they perceive the police as fair and accountable, which directly and indirectly increases trust and confidence levels in the service. To this end, a more reflective and open-minded culture in An Garda Síochána can aid the contemporary drive to reform institutional culture.
A presentation attached to the report highlighted that just 1% of the more than 14,500 members are born outside of Ireland. However it warned that An Garda Síochána must not “lean towards positive discrimination”.
“Applicants must continue to be screened on job qualifications and police effectiveness, not solely screening candidates upon the diversity needs of the organisation”.
Internal garda correspondence released to TheJournal.ie shows there was concern that the inclusion of non-Irish actors in its ‘The Difference is You’ recruitment advertisement would be seen as “tokenism”.
The head of the force’s communications unit recognised that the lack of minority actors in the ads could draw criticism from the Policing Authority.
However he referenced the low levels of members from minority communities and said feedback indicated they “don’t want tokenism, but want us to be seen to be engaging with them fairly and appropriately”.
‘A barrier’
Chief Superintendent McLoughlin’s report stated that the Sikh community in Ireland had complained that the force is “only partially open to ethnic minorities” and that Sikhs were discriminated against.
He said the Sikh community had said applicants would be “willing to sign a contract to indemnify the state against liability” as a result of members not wearing a protective helmet.
The chief superintendent made reference to the fact that other police forces, such as the PSNI and NYPD already allowed Sikh members to wear the turban and that Canadian police have been allowed to wear them since a legal challenge in 1990.
The report recommended that the turban should be allowed as part of the garda uniform, stating:
“The ban on the turban is seen as a barrier by many communities who otherwise have a healthy and positive relationship with An Garda Síochána.”
The force is currently working towards the roll-out of a new uniform for all members. A pilot for a summer uniform was launched in three stations last July.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) criticised the proposed new design for the summer uniform, calling for “a dramatic overhaul and modernising” that goes further than pockets on trousers and a breathable summer t-shirt.
“We need our uniform to reflect the work we do and it should provide the comfort and security to allow us to do our job effectively,” it said.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said the force is aiming to go to procurement for the new uniform by the end of the year.
He said management will look at “innovative solutions” to get the uniform to the frontline as quickly as possible.
With additional reporting from Ken Foxe and the team at Noteworthy.ie – find out more about their work here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Puts are own problems and concerns into a different perspective.
Where has the humanity gone? Climate change is manifesting itself every day in some or other part of the world.
These poor people, just trying to live and look after their families, totally powerless in the face of what the climate is doing to them, dependent on the charity and goodwill of others.
And on the other hand, you have the like of Putin and Johnson, selfish, power hungry men, totally oblivious to the suffering they are causing to the people around them.
I fear for the future of the world and if there is a God, I hope that he balances things out for all of mankind, and soon.
@Mary Walshe: We can’t wait to have perfect leaders or perfect climate or even for a god to do something. People are dying right now and we can change that Right now all those people need is food and surely you and i and everyone else can do that. I’m glad they can depend in a little way on their fellow man to help them ,ie charities. So until that better world comes let’s just put our hands in our pockets and help. That’s humanity, in action! It’s in our control.
Ever since I was a little boy and that was not yesterday, there has been famine and suffering in Africa. Charities have applied much needed ‘plasters’ to each problem but the problems continue. Politicians have bled their people dry and created vast wealth for themselves in the process and local politicians have used their positions in well paid jobs in charities as stepping boards to better paid jobs in politics, where they promote themselves and forget about the charities. Donations, much of which go, not to those in need but to CEO’s salaries and collectors commission. A radical approach has to be taken and focused on the political systems within those countries by those World bodies i.e. the U.N. so little starving girls can plan for their long term future. Charities know that without tackling the politicians/U.N. etc they, albeit unintentionally, prolong the little girls suffering and lack of hope. Plasters won’t prevent hunger. These people deserve better.
@Barrycelona: Very true. But also, what kind of person has numerous kids knowing that some or all of them will die from malnutrition or starvation because they can’t take care of them.
@Jim Smith: Poverty!! Just like Ireland in pre war times. It was inevitable that several children would die and that was one of the reasons people had such large families. Poorer families have always had more children. The more children that survived, the greater chance of a bigger ‘ income’. Men also have a lot to answer for, in the way they used and treated women, even in today’s World
@Jim Smith: Poverty!! Just like Ireland in pre war times. It was inevitable that several children would die and that was one of the reasons people had such large families. Poorer families have always had more children. The more children that survived, the greater chance of a bigger ‘ income’. Men also have a lot to answer for, in the way they used and treated women, even in today’s World.
@Barrycelona: Well no matter how poor I was, I wouldn’t have many children knowing that I couldn’t feed all of them and that some will die because I might get more money. That’s sick. The thing is that the Africans that I work with agree with me. The media seems to portray Africans as helpless sadists. Many are highly educated and intelligent people who care if their children live or die.
Why is this under ‘Ukraine’ news?
have your say