Single Traveller member serves in Garda Siochána

THERE is currently just one Traveller serving in the entire garda force, it emerged yesterday.

The member, who is in his early 30s, joined the gardaí six years ago and works in a rural garda division.

Superintendent John Grogan of Garda Human Resources said the man was doing well in his job but did not want to be identified.

“He’s very integrated, he’s very happy,” he said.

There was previously a female Traveller in the force but she left after becoming pregnant to spend more time with her family.

Gardaí are hoping their new multi-cultural recruitment campaign will attract interest from the 30,000-strong Travelling community but there are obstacles to overcome.

Few Travellers have the level of educational qualifications needed to pass the garda aptitude tests.

But a much bigger problem is the hostile attitude of many Travellers towards An Garda Siochána, particularly for its role in evicting them from illegal halting sites.

The Travellers’ group Pavee Point said the attitude was similar to that held by nationalists in Northern Ireland, who had refused to join the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) because they had no allegiance to it.

“I don’t think it’s much different down here in terms of Travellers’ relationship with the guards. Generally speaking, they see An Garda Siochána almost exclusively as representing settled society and they see it as a repressive arm of the state,” said Pavee Point assistant director Martin Collins.

But he said since the start of the recruitment campaign, seven Travellers had applied to join the force.