Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Commissioner. As he said, it is a work in progress. I would like to make a recommendation or a suggestion that he would consider including the issue of transgender members in the context of his upcoming plans.

My second question relates to the incident at last year's Dublin pride where LGB members of the force were denied permission to march in uniform alongside uniformed members of other police forces from across Europe. Will the Commissioner provide us with some of the reasons for denying permission to members of An Garda Síochána, especially when there have been other times when off-duty members of the force were given permission to wear their uniforms - for example, at the New York St. Patrick's Day parade or escorting the remains of St. Thérèse of Lisieux? The issue here is particularly important in regard to community policing when we consider the need to improve the level of trust between the Garda Síochána and the LGBT community. Seeing LGB members of the Garda Síochána marching in uniform at Dublin pride would have undoubtedly been a powerful signal to the community that it could place its trust in the Garda. As the Commissioner said a number of times throughout his presentation, the community is at the heart of everything it does.