Ms Josephine Feehily:

The actual timeframe for arranging the recruitment could be as long as six months from whenever we start. The "whenever we start" part is the imponderable now, and I note that the Minister is considering the commission's letter. We are in a research phase at present so I would not have seen us starting for a couple of months anyway, even if Kathleen O'Toole's letter had not been written. We need to research the labour market and the kind of remuneration that might be accepted before we can design the job specification.

One way or another, I anticipate we will get some input from the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland because it is clear from the letter it is now developing a lens on the needs a Commissioner's job. I do not see us starting for a couple of months and because of the time it takes to run a competition, including the executive search by the Public Appointments Service, it could take a further six months to bring a name to Government. I am not saying we are starting in a couple of months. That decision is now up in the air and the Minister will take a view on it. We will take a view fairly shortly in the authority and will convey our views to the Minister in response to Kathleen O'Toole's letter?