The Government is facing a crisis to replace Garda Commissioner Drew Harris as senior Garda officers do not plan to apply for his job when it becomes vacant in the coming months.
The situation is unprecedented in the history of the Garda force and looks set to cause major embarrassment.
Sources said an impasse – described as “entrenched” by one – has emerged over the pension-related tax liability, estimated at €500,000, that will arise if a candidate from inside the Garda, who has accrued full pension entitlements, becomes commissioner.
This 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.
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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.
This leaves open the possibility that a small number of senior ranking officers who joined the Garda in recent years, after serving for decades in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) or in Canada, will succeed Mr Harris.
[ Garda Commissioner contract extension a ‘privilege’ says Drew HarrisOpens in new window ]
It is also possible a senior police officer serving in a foreign police force will secure the job.
Candidates who have served only a small portion of their policing careers in the Garda, or who would be new to Irish policing if appointed commissioner, are not affected by the pension tax rules.
However, any move to fill the position of commissioner with a person who is not Irish, or who has spent most of their careers working in the PSNI, would lead to security concerns and would prove unpopular across the Garda.
It would also likely sour relations between Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and all of the staff associations that represent Garda members.
In reply to queries, the Garda Headquarters said Mr Harris “has been engaging with the Department of Justice on the matter” and how the rules apply it applies to pensions for senior Garda members.
However, it added “regulations relating to pensions for public servants is a matter for central Government”.
The Department of Finance, which is responsible for setting SFT thresholds, said “increases to the level of the SFT beginning in 2026 were provided for in Finance Act 2024″.
Further changes around “revised age-related valuation factors” were also being examined and were “expected to be considered in the context of Finance Bill 2025”. A working group was also being established to examine possible technical changes to the SFT after a “scoping exercise” between the department and Revenue.
In reply to queries, the Department of Justice made no reference to Mr Harris’s contract extension. It said the process of recruiting a new Garda commissioner could not commence until Mr O’Callaghan consulted with the board of An Garda Síochána and the Policing and Community Safety Authority. He could not do this until the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 was commenced last week. It added questions about the SFT must be addressed to the Department of Finance.
Long-standing SFT rules meant once a pension was worth more than €2 million, an effective rate of tax of up to 72 per cent applied on any excess, resulting in large tax liabilities on retirement. Some Garda officers who retired in recent years face a liability of several hundred thousand euro.
Last September, after a review by independent expert Dr Donal de Buitléir, the Government announced the SFT was being increased on a phased basis to €2.8 million, starting in 2026 and increasing by €200,000 per year until 2029.
The report proposed a reduction in the 40 per cent level of chargeable excess tax (CET) on any amount above the SFT to as low as 10 per cent. However, this was not acted upon by Government and the level of CET was left unchanged.
However, senior Garda officers believed much more significant concessions were about to be delivered and, on that basis, some agreed to apply to for the deputy commissioner post that was filled last autumn after a delay of a year.
