The new Garda commissioner is set to be confirmed and announced early next week. The recruitment competition to find a successor to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is near completion.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan is set to recommend a candidate from the process to Cabinet next Tuesday, with the appointment expected to be approved by Government and announced immediately. However, Mr Harris’s term as commissioner will continue until September 1st.
A former senior officer in the PSNI, he was appointed in October 2018 on a five-year contract, which was extended for a further two years. More recently his term was extended by another three months, despite the Department of Justice having initially strongly denied reports he had been approached about a second extension.
The number of senior Garda officers who applied for the commissioner’s job, which was advertised in May and carries a salary of at least €314,000, was relatively low, according to sources.
However, both serving deputy commissioners, who would normally be the front-runners for the job, are believed to have applied.
Some of those who would have been expected to apply – currently serving as assistant commissioners or chief superintendents – were deterred by a significant tax liability that would arise on their pension if they secured the role and served the full five-year term.
Many senior officers estimate their liability at present at about €500,000. However, if long-serving officers were promoted to the rank of commissioner, and served for five years, that would increase to well over €1 million on retirement and, in a very small number of cases, more than €2 million.
The Irish Times understands Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly has applied for the position, while sources said Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon has also done so. Ms Coxon declined to comment on the matter when asked by journalists at an event in Dublin last month.
She was appointed Deputy Commissioner in April 2021, having previously been deputy chief officer in the Toronto Police in Canada. Mr Kelly has worked his full policing career in the Garda, having joined as a recruit via the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary.
The recruitment process is confidential, meaning a list of the candidates who applied will not be disclosed. The advertisement for the job stated that applications were welcome from candidates with “policing, security or civilian backgrounds”.
However, Mr O’Callaghan recently said he would be unwilling to recommend to Government any candidate for the commissioner’s job who does not have previous policing experience.
Mr O’Callaghan said he intended for the new commissioner to be in place to take over from Mr Harris when he retires on September 1st. The recruitment process was run by Public Jobs, formerly the Public Appointments Service. When a successful candidate emerges from that process, they must be recommended by Mr O’Callaghan to the Cabinet for final approval.
