Of all the distasteful legislation implemented in Northern
Ireland since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, none has
caused more annoyance and frustration to the Protestant population
than the policy of 50-50 recruitment for the Police Force
of Northern Ireland.
This legislation, unparalleled in any part of the United
Kingdom, and indeed in the Commonwealth, not only signalled
the end of the R.U.C., one of the finest police forces in
the world, but introduced a policy whereby the Protestant
majority population would be the losers in recruitment to
the new police force.
Roman Catholics constitute just over 40 per cent of the Northern
Ireland population, yet under the new legislation the minority
population is entitled to 50 per cent of the recruitment to
the PSNI.
Not only that, but the majority Protestant population has
to share its 50 per cent with others people
who may be of other religious faiths, or none at all.
Indeed, to add insult to injury, press reports have referred
to 50 per cent of places being available to Catholics
and 50 per cent to Non-Catholics, the latter being
a term of the utmost insult to Protestants.
The implications of the new legislation and its effect on
the Protestant population was brought home in a recent judgment
in the High Court in Belfast which upheld the new legislation.
The judge said the need to correct religious imbalance had
been recognised for a long time, but earlier attempts to deal
with it had foundered.
That is true, but it was not the fault of the Unionist majority
Northern Ireland Government that this was so, one third of
places on the R.U.C. was set aside for Roman Catholics when
the new Force was established in 1922.
Nothing approaching one-third was ever achieved, but this
was not the fault of the Government or the majority Protestant
population. The simple fact was that only a fraction of the
Roman Catholic population was prepared to risk the wrath of
its own community and join the R.U.C.
The present situation is going against Protestants, as emerged
in the recent judgment, when it was noted that an 18-year-old
Protestant from Bangor was rejected in his application to
join the PSNI even though he was included in the pool of qualified
candidates.
The potential recruit was in court to hear the judgment,
and afterwards his father said, It is clear that Catholics
had lower scores than Mark but due to the political situation
here they got in.
It is interesting to reflect on the fact that a recent report
in a Sunday national newspaper revealed that following an
attack by the Real I.R.A. on a Roman Catholic recruit for
the PSNI, some 40 Roman Catholics training to join the police
force had walked out of the course. And security forces recently
had to mount an operation in Newry to evacuate a Roman Catholic
police recruit from his home.
|
