Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, the Policing Authority, under section 9 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended, has responsibility for nominating persons for appointment by the Government to the post of Garda Commissioner.

This will be the first time that the new legislative process will be utilised and I have consulted the chair of the authority about a process to identify and appoint a permanent Commissioner to An Garda Síochána. We are agreed that it is crucial that a deliberate and considered recruitment process takes place in order that the best possible candidate is appointed following a selection process. We are also agreed that an overly long delay in the appointment of a new Commissioner would not be optimal for the organisation in terms of performance or morale.

I am pleased to say the authority has commenced the ground work for the recruitment process in advance of the formal triggering of the statutory process by Government. I see this process taking a number of weeks during which the authority will engage with my Department and the Public Appointments Service, which will undertake the competition on behalf of the authority. Importantly, it will also allow the Policing Authority to explore with the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland how it sees the future role and responsibilities of the new Commissioner. As the Deputy is aware, the commission is undertaking a comprehensive review of all aspects of policing in the State and has considerable experience and expertise around the table in that regard. I very much welcome the willingness of the commission to share its perspective with the Policing Authority in advance of completing its work, which is scheduled for September 2018. This will assist in ensuring potential candidates will have as much information as possible on the future direction of policing in the State.

Subject to the progress the authority makes in the coming weeks I expect the Government to be in a position to formally approve the authority to invite the Public Appointments Service to conduct the selection process in the coming weeks. Once the process is triggered I anticipate that it will take between four to six months to identify and appoint a successful candidate.

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