Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has reiterated the Government’s support for the Garda Commissioner, saying Drew Harris had “full authority” to remain in the role in the face of a confidence vote from rank-and-file members.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) is balloting members amid a deepening dispute over Mr Harris’s plans to change the rostering system within the force.
The unprecedented confidence vote stems from discontent within the force, mostly around the commissioner’s plan to return to a pre-pandemic roster from November 6.
A different roster was implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the GRA and other representative groups gave a commitment to return to the old roster when it ended.
But the GRA has raised concerns over low morale in the force and said retention and recruitment issues would affect the implementation of the old roster.
Mr Harris said he was “determined to stay” in his role even if the GRA members passed a vote of no confidence.
Speaking to Newstalk on Wednesday, he said: “I have a job to do. I have a very important job to do, and I have a lot of work left to do in my tenure, which stretches out to 2025.
“So, whatever the vote is, I’m not leaving. That was my initial reaction and indeed, on reflection, that still is my determination to stay on and finish the job that I was employed to do.”
Asked later by reporters what authority Mr Harris would have to stay on if he lost the vote, Mr Varadkar said: “He has full authority under the law and he has authority from the Government.
“The Garda Commissioner is appointed by Government after a fair competition and he won the competition. He’s been appointed and reappointed by Government.
“As I’ve said before, you know, it’s not the case that the staffroom at a school decide who the principal is, it’s not the case that staff at a newspaper decide who the editor is, the commissioner is appointed by the Irish Government and we have confidence in him.”
Asked if the views of the GRA mattered, Mr Varadkar said: “Of course they matter. I think the focus of any representative body, whether it’s any trade union group or body that represents staff, should really be on their terms and conditions, not on who is head of the organisation.”
Mr Harris said his role as Garda Commissioner had been the “greatest privilege of his career”.
It was put to him that even if a vote of no confidence would not mean he would lose his job, there was speculation it could affect his further career ambitions in the international policing community due to reputational damage.
But Mr Harris said: “Well, yes, I heard that and I was somewhat puzzled, because this, in fact, is the pinnacle of my career.
“This is the greatest privilege in terms of my career and the work that I’ve done in policing.
“I have 40 years’ service in policing this year. And so what I wish to do is finish off my career in policing within An Garda Siochana as commissioner, and, as I say, this is the greatest privilege of my career.
“I give it my all and I’m totally committed to the organisation and I’m entirely committed to providing policing services to the citizens of Ireland.”
Asked if this was his swansong regardless of the result of the vote, he said: “Well, it’s an odd sort of swansong because I’m going at this 100% all the time.”
Mr Harris said Garda management was delivering reforms agreed by Government following the Commission on the Future of Policing.
“That’s what we’re determined to do, we’re determined in terms of creating a modern police service, a police service which responds to the public, a police service which is led by information, and that requires modernisation,” he said.
