Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has again expressed her “full support” for Garda Commissioner Drew Harris after gardaí overwhelmingly voted no confidence in him in a Garda Representative Association (GRA) ballot on Wednesday.
During a visit to a newly refurbished Garda station in Rathcormac, Co Cork, Ms McEntee reiterated that the Commissioner has the support of not only herself, but of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Government.
“This vote, while it was personal in nature, the association and the GRA have said that this was mainly about the issue of rosters. I think as with any type of scenario where you have a dispute on something like rosters, the only way you resolve it is by getting around the table.”
Ms McEntee refuted suggestions put to her by a reporter that the new garda roster would involve a “gutting” of community policing.
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“I have been reassured by the Commissioner, by senior management, by members of An Garda Síochána that no unit will be disbanded. There, obviously, will, in order to make up the fifth unit, be members taken from right across the various different sections but this is about making sure that we have our gardaí working where they need to be at the time that [they] need to be.”
Meanwhile, Mr Harris has said he has no desire to be chief constable of the Police Service in Northern Ireland and has no intention of resigning from his post after the GRA no confidence vote was passed by a margin of 98.7 per cent against him.
Also speaking at Rathcormac, Mr Harris said his plan is to remain in his role.
“I am a bit surprised about that question [on the PSNI post]. I have no interest whatsoever in being the chief constable of the Police Service in Northern Ireland.
“This is a real privilege to be commissioner of An Garda Síochána and I take that role extremely seriously. I take my role in terms of protecting the people of Ireland, the national security of Ireland and also the health and wellbeing of my staff extremely seriously. And I have a job to finish here. ”
[ Why the race is on to resolve bitter Garda row before November 6thOpens in new window ]
Mr Harris said for him it wasn’t about “the blow” of the vote but “the ability to stand back up and keep going”.
Mr Harris insisted that he is “always open” to a “conversation” and a “negotiation” with the GRA and other associations.
“We want to get to a new roster and we also want to resolve the other issues that have been raised. I have already proposed using a WRC [Workplace Relations Commission], which is a Government resolution process for industrial relations exercises.”
Mr Harris admitted that he was “concerned” to see small numbers of gardaí leaving An Garda Síochána for other jobs.
“Not all [who have left] are mid-service. Some are more junior in service. Some join the organisation and find it is not for them. Also, then, other opportunities that were closed during Covid have reopened.
“The question is ‘Am I concerned?’. Yes, I am concerned. In response to that, we have set up our own recruitment and retention working group. All of the associations are represented in that.
“We are no different from any large scale organisation in terms of people looking elsewhere for employment opportunities. Where we are different is the small percentage who choose to leave.”
Mr Harris denied suggestions that a return to the old Garda roster would lead to a “gutting” of community policing.
“That is not correct. Again, we have set out what our policy is in terms of bringing in the 2012 roster. Part of that is to protect community policing. We made that clear to all divisional officers. The priority, for me, is about visibility. This is about staffing and about giving more visibility.”
Also on Thursday, Mr Harris was asked about the plan by detectives in Dubai to travel to Ireland to advance the investigation in to the Kinahan organised crime group
Mr Harris said last week he had the great “privilege” of visiting police in Dubai.
“Obviously, elements of the Kinahan organised crime gang are based there. It is in our interest as a police service and bringing individuals to justice to have a good relationship with Dubai police.
“I think last week was a really important step in terms of meeting my counterpart in order to advance that relationship. And part of that is understanding the investigations that Dubai police have been undertaking.
“They are a very advanced organisation and I think we can have a very positive partnership with them. So, the invitation has been made for them to visit Dublin so we share both information and intelligence and hopefully work towards a bi lateral agreement with Dubai police in terms of advancing our investigations.”