Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have to respond to one more matter on the off-chance that people follow these debates. I need to refer to one more point, the very fair point the Deputy makes with regard to promotional opportunities with An Garda Síochána and the question of whether you need to be a sworn member of An Garda Síochána as distinct from a member of Garda staff.

I meet these people on a regular basis. There are very senior members of the Garda senior executive team today who are not sworn members of An Garda Síochána. I take the point that the Garda Commissioner must be. I also make the point that I tried to make in my opening comment that there would be nothing precluding anybody from applying for promotion opportunities within the public service and Civil Service in open competitions. I will check myself in case I am wrong on this, but there certainly have been a number of serving Secretaries General, for example, who have come not directly from a Civil Service post or have been a principal officer, assistant secretary general and then the Secretary General. I say this to be - I hope - helpful to the unions and representative bodies. There is no preclusion from applying for any open competition in the Civil Service or public service. As of today, there are members of the Garda leadership and executive team who are civilians. I know we will return to this on Report Stage.