The head of the Garda Inspectorate, Kathleen O'Toole, has expressed support for the decision of the Garda Commissioner to refuse permission for a prospective Sikh member of the Garda Reserve to wear a turban.
The former Boston police commissioner said "the majority of police forces in the US would not allow it" either, but added: "we haven't seen the end of this [ issue]". She said the Garda "has to reflect the diversity of the community it serves in order to be credible and effective" but is not in favour of ethnic quotas.
Speaking during a visit to Kilkenny, Chief Insp O'Toole said she had backed "positive discrimination" in Northern Ireland, while serving on the Patten Commission, "because of a dire need" to get Catholics to join the PSNI. However, the best way for the Garda to reflect ethnic diversity is through "an effective recruiting programme that is able to attract a diverse candidate pool".
While "public confidence [ in the Garda Síochána] has been shaken by the Morris tribunal and the Barr tribunal", she believes that "the vast majority of people support the police" and that most gardaí are "good, decent and committed people".
Ms O'Toole said recent changes such as the creation of the Office of the Garda Ombudsman mean that "in terms of accountability and transparency" the Garda is "more advanced than many police forces in the United States".
However, it "lags behind" in areas such as administrative systems and the use of technology.
She expressed concern about the amount of time taken up by administrative duties and wants civilians to do much of this work and "leave police work to the police".
Ms O'Toole, who believes "it is important to get out and listen to the people on the ground to hear what they want from the Garda", said she "sympathised" with the public who have "legitimate concerns" about the perceived lack of "gardaí on the beat".
She told The Irish Timesthat the public "will see a dramatic change in garda visibility" within the next year as a result of recommendations she has made to the Minister for Justice.