Ms Nóirín O'Sullivan:

The first thing I would like to say is that there are many factual inaccuracies in the public domain. Lest one of them remain, namely, that I promoted my bridesmaid, that certainly was not the case. I was going to say "because I did not have a bridesmaid" but besides that, it is important that we deal with accuracies. That is certainly not the case. I want to get that one out of the way.

I will speak my mind. If a member of An Garda Síochána, or a member of any organisation, is defined by the person they just happen to be associated with, be it through marriage or otherwise, I do not believe that is appropriate.

I will talk about the generalities of promotion within An Garda Síochána. In April 2014, when I took over from my predecessor, I took over in an interim acting capacity as acting interim Commissioner. That remained the position for nine months while there was an international head hunt competition. It was the first time ever in the history of the State that a Commissioner was selected from an international head hunt competition. It was conducted independently. There were a number of international people on the panel. There were a number of international competitors. I am very lucky in so far as I was the person chosen through that competition. Getting this job was not easy, nor would I have expected that to be the case. It reinforces my confidence in my own ability but also in the fact that I was chosen by an independent panel as being the person best suited for the job.

That is an important factor to bear in mind. In terms of internal promotion competitions, they are also done under very strict guidelines. For the information of the committee, the chair and the board members are independently chosen from a panel prepared by the Department of Justice and Equality. Members of An Garda Síochána are represented on it and any competitions are done in accordance with fair procedure and due diligence under the authority of the chair of the board. People who come through those promotion competitions are selected on the basis of their proven ability when they present for interview. It is a very important aspect that the committee needs to be aware of. There is no such thing as me or any member of An Garda Síochána appointing and anointing an individual member.

The Deputy also mentioned the cultural change. Cultural change does not happen overnight. It takes time and it is about attitudes and behaviours both internally and externally. It is about making sure we have the support to make those cultural changes real. We have started that with the training of our new students, with training for all of our people right throughout the organisation and by introducing civilianisation and new perspectives into the dynamic of An Garda Síochána. The Deputy is welcome to come to Garda headquarters. He is welcome, as is the committee, to go any place he wishes throughout the organisation and see at first hand the changes that are happening.