Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The answer is that the Department took the decision. It did so based on the information that it was available to it at the time. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland highlighted a lack of diversity and a need to increase diversity within An Garda Síochána.

The Garda itself, in reaching out to other communities, identified that one of the reasons people were not coming forward was because they had to have both languages, including the Irish language. It is not just different communities but people with learning disabilities, dyslexia and other learning challenges who said this was a challenge for them. There was not a specific ask through the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland or the Garda but taking all that information into account, a decision was taken to remove this requirement. It was also decided that there would be a particular focus and emphasis on Irish in the next recruitment round in order to increase the numbers. That is where the communication aspect came in and An Garda Síochána developed its new strategy. It is based on the information we have.

To answer the previous question, it was clear that the Irish-language requirement did not actually increase the numbers applying or support people, but it did act as a barrier to other people applying, which I do not think any of us want to see happening. We want to make sure everybody knows that they can apply and that they have an opportunity to become members of An Garda Síochána. This was seen as a barrier in that regard. The Department took that information on board and put forward these recommendations.