The recruitment competition to appoint the next Garda Commissioner has begun, with the role advertised online on Friday by the Public Appointments Service (PAS).
Candidates with no policing experience are eligible to apply, including people from abroad or Irish citizens based overseas.
“Applications are welcomed from candidates of an appropriate calibre from policing, security or civilian backgrounds,” the newly released advert for the new role states.
The move to advertise the job, which would ordinarily take several months to fill, comes just weeks after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris had his contract extended by three months, which will bring his seven-year tenure to an end on September 1st.
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The advert describes the role as a “very challenging, wide-ranging and high-profile” one for which an “exceptional candidate” was being sought to lead an organisation with 18,000 personnel, both sworn members and civilian staff.
“The Garda Commissioner will be an outstanding and inspirational leader and a person of utmost integrity,” the advertisement states. “They will possess the experience and stature to quickly gain respect and confidence within the organisation through their personal impact, leadership and communications skills and will drive positive change across the organisation.”
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has already consulted with the board of An Garda Síochána and the new Policing and Community Safety Authority about the recruitment competition, as is required by law. While PAS runs the competition, a preferred candidate can only be appointed following Government approval. The new commissioner’s contract will run for five years, or until the candidate reaches 62 years.
According to the PAS, the successful candidate will have to demonstrate previous “visible, effective leadership in a complex organisation of comparable scale in a service delivery environment”. They must also have “a proven track record of successful strategic and organisational reform”.
Candidates must have “a proven track record in building a cohesive senior management team and driving a high performance culture in the management team”. They must be capable of “building effective and sustainable relationships with a wide variety of key stakeholders”. This includes across “political, community, victims and civil society groups, both nationally and internationally”.
An honours degree or postgraduate qualification “in a relevant discipline would be desirable” and applications for the role must be received by 3pm on Thursday, May 29th.
The process of hiring a new commissioner to lead the Garda force is commencing at a time when few, if any, other senior Garda officers have plans to apply for the role.
Under pension-related tax regulations, most current senior Garda officers would face a very significant tax liability on retirement. This would increase significantly if they became Garda Commissioner and served a full term. While senior officers estimate their liability would be around €500,000 at present, for some longer serving offices that would increase to well over €1 million on retirement if they became commissioner.
However, a small number of senior Garda officers who have spent most of their careers working outside the Republic – joining the Garda from other police forces – will not face the same tax liability. As a result, they may be much more likely to apply for the role.
The pensions-related tax exposure arises under standard fund threshold (SFT) rules for large pensions that sets a cap on tax-relieved pension benefits a person can draw in their lifetime after careers in the public or private sectors.
Mr Harris has been liaising with the Government over the matter, though it seems unclear how the dispute can be resolved. Senior officers believe promises made to them last year, that helped break a protracted stand-off over a vacancy at deputy commissioner level, were not fulfilled.
The Irish Times understands that none of the officers currently at the rank of assistant commissioner or deputy commissioner – and who have spent their careers in the Garda – plans to apply for the Garda Commissioner’s role.
