Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan has said that at least eight “critical vacancies” in the force need to be filled immediately.
She was speaking amid growing political controversy for Government over the failure to promote a group of senior Garda officers to key posts.
Commissioner O’Sullivan said a minimum level of staffing was required to provide day-to-day policing while also reforming the force. She was speaking at a passing out ceremony for 145 new Garda members at the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary.
She pointed to remarks she made earlier in the year when she told the Policing Authority unless “critical vacancies” were filled the service provided by the force would suffer.
“I remain of that view, and we are working with the Department of Justice and the Policing Authority to make sure those vacancies are filled as soon as possible,” she said in Templemore on Thursday.
And while an employee control framework, setting down the minimum numbers of officers required at senior ranks, was put in place five years ago conditions had changed since then.
“Things change operationally and strategically,” Commissioner O’Sullivan said.
“You cannot continue to do the day job and implement the biggest reform project in the 94-year history of An Garda Siochana and keep the Garda and civilian structures the same as they were.”
It was imperative that she maintained operational capacity to a level that enabled the Garda provide full protection to the community and provide security for the State.
There are 17 officers on a list waiting to be promoted by the end of the year, at which time that list will lapse and the Policing Authority will assume responsibility of a new independent promotions system.
It means any of the officers who on the current panel to become superintendents, chief superintendents or assistant commissioners whose promotions are not ratified by Cabinet by the end of the year will have to re-apply under the new system.
Garda sources said the last time a promotions list expired without being fully executed was in 1987.
The matter has become controversial because some of the vacancies are in key areas of policing such as the Special Detective Unit, which fights terrorism, and in posts commanding policing in large geographical areas.
When asked if she would support all of those 17 promotions taking place before the end of the year, Commissioner O’Sullivan said the current “critical vacancies” must be filled immediately.
“We need an assistant commissioner, two chief superintendents and five superintendents,” she said.
If those promotions were to take place, further promotions would need to be made to fill the vacancies created by the movement of personnel. Commissioner O’Sullivan said that part of the process still needed to be “worked out” with the Department of Justice and Policing Authority.
Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said she had been aware for some time there were three vacancies in the senior ranks. She added she had been made aware today by senior Garda management that a further five vacancies had recently arisen at superintendent level.
“Of course I will be examining those critical vacancies,” she said, adding she had to date made 32 appointments to the senior ranks of the Garda and made significant investment generally in the force.
However, while there were 17 officers on a list since July to be promoted having been successful in gaining their promotions in a competitive process early in the year, panels often expire before every person on them is promoted.
“Anybody who applied knew the panels were going to expire and it was made very clear once the transfer (of the promotions system to the Policing Authority) took place that the authority would run its own competition.”
