Applications to the Police Service of Northern Ireland from the Catholic community have increased significantly in the latest recruitment round.
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde told a meeting of the policing board in Bangor last night that some 44 per cent of more than 7,000 applicants for 440 places as police officers were Catholics.
This is a jump from the 34 to 38 per cent range in the previous 10 recruitment competitions. The PSNI currently has 21 per cent of its officers from the Catholic community. The RUC had less than 10 per cent.
Sir Hugh announced the rise in applications from Catholics in his opening remarks to the meeting, one of a series being held outside Belfast.
However, the PSNI also said efforts to attract applications for senior positions from suitably qualified Garda personnel had so far been unsuccessful.
The facility exists for "lateral entry" into the PSNI of senior police officers from other services, including the Garda.
However, the board was told that Garda officers would not opt for such transfers unless they saw it was clearly in their interest to do so.
The chief constable would not be drawn on the threatened withdrawal of £1.2 million Executive money in support of the Conflict Transformation Initiative (CTI) designed to encourage UDA decommissioning.
Sir Hugh, who has criticised the policy, claiming that he "wouldn't give the UDA 50p", told the meeting that "the link between money and decommissioning is a false one".
Minister for Social Development Margaret Ritchie is due to announce whether cash support for the CTI is to be continued or not within the next fortnight.
Sir Hugh said he welcomed the report on the shooting by the PSNI of Neil McConville, the first person to be shot dead by the force since its creation in 2001. He said that, like all reports by Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan, the PSNI took her findings very seriously and would study them very carefully.
Board chairman Prof Sir Desmond Rea said there was widespread "real fear within parts of our community" concerning anti-social behaviour, adding that "the public need assurance that concerns are being taken seriously".
Referring to the ongoing controversy about the numbers of officers needed to police Northern Ireland, Sir Desmond said the chief constable had assured the board he had "the necessary resources to deliver the policing service". But he added: "The fact remains that we are not yet policing a normal society."