CHRISTY GALLIGAN CALLS IT!
Letters to the Editor: Irish Examiner - Garda Commissioner's dubious legacy
One reader writes in to say that 'a vote of no confidence, suspensions, and resignations' will be what this commissioner will remembered for.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris will not seek to extend his time in his current role.
SAT, 10 AUG, 2024 - 01:00
The news that Drew Harris will not seek to extend his time as Garda Commissioner does not come as a surprise for many on the frontline, and is possibly a sense of relief for many.
My reasons for saying this are because of the schism, or fracture, that has emerged over a period of time between Garda HQ and those working at the coalface.
The idea, first and foremost, that the policing authority or the Government of the day thought it was a good idea to hand over the keys of our policing, security, and intelligence to him says something for the judgement of those who saw him as a reformist and safe pair of hands.
The outcome was very different and has had a ripple effect through the force itself and the Irish community.
The introduction of the policing model in 2019, untested and uncosted, and which, in all intent and purpose, was a hypothetical model based on assumptions, was to be the cornerstone of policing in Ireland for decades to come. The reality was that it was a failure.
A vote of no confidence, suspensions, resignations, strict disciplinary oversight, rostering, promoting other PSNI officers to senior positions in Garda HQ, reducing the number of districts, expanding divisions, recruitment, and retention, will be what this commissioner will remembered for.
That homegrown Garda officers are prevented from applying for senior positions, due to tax implications, shows a two-tier system within the force and which is aided by this Government and the minister for justice.
This minister, who appeared for photoshoots before the Dublin riots, should consider her position. Her failure to bridge differences between the GRA and the commissioner, and her refusal to attend the conference says all there needs to be said about her tenure in office.
A weak, absent minister who has lost the confidence of communities and the frontline gardaí themselves.
Maybe Mr Harris will be rewarded with a sir or a lord title after he moves on in 2025 enjoying, like most other officers from outside Ireland who were subsumed into the force, the benefits of his career in two jurisdictions.
Comments