Vol. 489 No. 6
590 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans, if any, he has to abolish the anomaly which exists in paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations, 1988, whereby a lesser height requirement exists for female recruits than that which is required for their male counterparts. [8597/98]
Admission to the Garda Síochána is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and is governed by the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations, 1988, as amended. These regulations lay down the criteria for admission to the force. The minimum height requirements prescribed in the regulations are five feet nine inches and five feet five inches for men and women, respectively.
Section 17(b) of the Employment Equality Act, 1977, (as inserted by the European Communities (Employment Equality) Regulations, 1985) permits the application of different height requirements for men and women for the purposes of Garda recruitment. The Employment Equality Bill also makes provision for the application of different height criteria for men and women for this purpose but further provides that the criteria chosen must be such that the proportion of women in the State likely to meet the criterion for women is approximately the same as the proportion of men likely to meet the criterion for men.
