The Garda Commissioner may make contact with foreign police forces "to find suitable people to police the new communities we now have in Ireland", he told an international gathering of police yesterday.
At the opening of the International Police Association's conference in Dublin Castle, Commissioner Noel Conroy spoke of the drive to recruit people from ethnic minorities to the Garda.
"We will naturally enough be recruiting people, maybe from some of your forces and, who knows, maybe we may be making contact with you to find suitable people to police the new communities we have now in Ireland."
Mr Conroy added: "It has up to now been a force where we recruited from Irish society because we dealt with Irish people. It's only natural that policing can change."
He was addressing the police association's delegates in St Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle. About 320 police officers from 62 different countries are attending the conference.
The conference is being held in Dublin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Irish branch.
The international president, Michael Odysseos from Cyprus, said his mission was to promote greater co-operation and understanding between police forces around the world.
He said gardaí were "close to the general public and the police is respected. We believe that if police are not close to the public, it's very difficult to solve our main objective, which is fighting crime." - (PA)