It is said the inspector is not a fan of certain Garda members’ beard-growing attempts.
A Garda supervisor is reported as having issued a warning to junior officers over “unacceptable” facial hair.
According to RTÉ News, an inspector that works in a traffic unit stated in an internal circular to Garda sergeants that certain Gardaí cannot seem to make up their minds if they want a beard or not.
This is because they are said to alternate weekly between being clean-shaven to having various stages of facial hair, which the unnamed inspector is reported to have described as “unacceptable”.
He is also reported to have compared some attempts by Gardaí to grow a beard to “a badly watered lawn in a heatwave” and recommended that deciding to grow a beard should not be interpreted as a chance to take a break from shaving.
RTÉ News says the inspector urged officers to make a decision on whether or not they want a beard and “commit to one look or the other” and stated that those who could not grow a beard in two weeks should “concede and graciously admit defeat”.
In a statement to JOE responding to the report, a Garda spokesperson said:
“A policy was issued in July 2021 on Uniform and Dress Code within An Garda Síochána which includes provisions on beard wearing which all Garda member are expected to follow.”
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