Hayes report: Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy needs to act quickly if he is to avert a serious Garda management crisis on the retirement of half of the force's 15 most senior officers in the next two years.
The warning is contained in a report on Garda leadership by a Government-appointed advisory group of business leaders chaired by Senator Maurice Hayes.
The report forms part of an emerging consensus from advisers appointed by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell advocating greater civilianisation of An Garda Síochána.
Recent reports have repeatedly pointed to civilianisation as a means of overhauling aspects of Garda culture in the wake of adverse findings from tribunals of inquiry.
Among the more radical recommendations in the latest report is one dealing with the process of choosing a successor to Mr Conroy when he retires next year. Mr Hayes's four-person group believes the role should be advertised internationally.
This could lead to a situation where a foreign national police officer with no service in the Garda would, for the first time in the history of the State, run An Garda Síochána.
The group's interim report on a number of key issues echoes the views of the chief inspector of the new Garda Inspectorate, Kathleen O'Toole, whose first report on Garda management reform was also published yesterday.
Mr Hayes's group - the advisory group on Garda management and leadership development - believes Mr Conroy should chair a new four-person board of management that would run An Garda Síochána. The other three members would be his three deputy commissioners, one of whom should be a civilian.
Mr Hayes believes these four should meet weekly and that these meetings should replace the monthly meetings of the 15 officers from the rank of assistant commissioner and higher.
"[ This would] free the commissioner of much of the day-to-day detail and leave him free for the strategic task of leading the organisation through a period of rapid change," the report states.
It also recommends that when drawing up annual plans, the board of management should seek advice from civilian experts from the public and private sector on a wide range of issues.
On the issue of the civilianisation of roles across all ranks, it proposes a reversal of current policy. The Hayes group says separate human resources systems have developed for the management of Garda members and civilian workers.
It believes this policy should be reversed immediately.
It has also called for an examination of wider Civil Service manpower policies, such as recruitment caps, which have made it difficult to civilianise the force and free up gardaí for frontline duties.
The Hayes group was established in August. The other members are: Emer Daly, former director of strategic planning and risk management with Axa Insurance; Maurice Keane, former group chief executive of the Bank of Ireland; and Dr Michael Mulreany, assistant director general of the Institute of Public Administration.
The group's terms of reference include "addressing the management and leadership challenges facing the force".
ADVISORY GROUP REPORT: recommendations
The Advisory Group on Garda Management and Leadership Development was established in August to advise Garda management. Among the recommendations in its first report are:
Post of Garda Commissioner to be advertised internationally.
Much greater civilianisation of force from clerical posts to senior management positions in finance and human resources.
Some operational positions should also be civilianised such as scene of crime officers and forensic support workers.
Policing targets should be set for regional assistant commissioners and benchmarks and comparisons developed.
Maximum power should be devolved to regional assistant commissioners.
Chief superintendents, and not just assistant commissioners, should be eligible to apply for deputy commissioner positions.
