Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 421: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the views of officials (details supplied) who are involved in implementation of the Garda Síochána Bill 2005 reflect his Department's official view of non-residents applying for posts in the Garda Síochána and of Pakistani nationals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3911/06]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 422: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform what an officer of his Department (details supplied) meant in an e-mail to persons who are dealing with the implementation of the Garda Síochána Bill 2005, stating that to open up the Garda Síochána posts for applications from abroad would see applications from places such as Nigeria and China supported by false references; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3912/06]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 423: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the consultative process and minutes of the sub-group, including exchange of letters and emails between persons (details supplied) dealing with the issues of non-nationals applying for posts in the Garda Síochána will be put on the record of the Houses of the Oireachtas. [3913/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 421 to 423, inclusive, together.

The internal departmental correspondence to which the Deputy refers, and which was released under the Freedom of Information Act, arose during the preparation of proposals to significantly widen eligibility for membership of the Garda Síochána.

The background to this matter is that, in the context of the current major expansion of the strength of the Garda Síochána from 12,000 to 14,000, I recognised the need for the intake of Garda recruits to reflect the increasingly multi-ethnic and multicultural composition of Irish society. I took the view that the long-standing requirement for Garda recruits to hold an academic requirement in Irish was a barrier to this. I brought forward regulations, approved by Government and made on 12 September 2005, which replaced the requirement to hold a qualification in both Irish and English with a requirement to hold a qualification in two languages, one of which must be Irish or English. Parallel measures were put in place to protect and promote the use of Irish in the force.

In the preparation of these proposals and the related regulations, consideration was given by officials in my Department to any consequential changes relating to nationality or residence which might be required by a change in the language requirements. While the regulations on Garda recruitment had up to then been silent on the issue of nationality or residence, the requirement to hold a qualification in Irish had effectively limited entry to the force to Irish nationals. The removal of the Irish requirement therefore required this issue to be addressed.

The consideration of this issue within my Department was thorough, and included an analysis of the potential benefits and disadvantages of different models of eligibility for membership of the Garda Síochána, ranging from restricted models to liberal models. One issue was whether the competition should be opened to persons not resident in Ireland, that is, worldwide eligibility. The correspondence in question was one contribution to that debate. It was an entirely legitimate analysis of the undoubtedly large potential difficulties, including difficulties in checking the integrity of documentary evidence of qualifications, that could arise in an extension of eligibility worldwide.

The argument against worldwide eligibility was accepted and the conclusion of the officials, and their advice to me, was that eligibility for membership of the Garda Síochána should be extended very widely to include all nationals of EU member states, EEA states and the Swiss confederation, and nationals of any other state who are lawfully resident in Ireland for five years. I accepted this proposal and it was included in the regulations. The result is that eligibility for membership of the Garda Síochána is now one of the most extensive and liberal among police forces internationally, to the benefit of the force and the society it serves.