New Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan: Public trust has to be won and won again

The interim Garda commissioner has laid out how she intends to transform the mentality in the force admitting public trust in gardaí has to be “won and won again”.

Confirming she wants the post permanently, Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan said the force is “undoubtedly facing many further difficult days”.

However, she insisted that, under her leadership, every member of the Garda, as well as people outside the force, will be listened to and will be engaged with “in a very different way”, and that the force will be more accepting of internal dissent.

Ms O’Sullivan admitted that her predecessor’s use of the word “disgusting” to describe the actions of Garda whistleblowers was “unfortunate” and said: “Members with a different view can be a catalyst for change, the corrective to inaction, and can bring added value. If they’re listened to, if they’re taken seriously. As they should be. As they will be.

“We’ll be working hard on changing the mindset so that we don’t view dissent as disloyalty, but rather as an opportunity to improve what we are already really good at doing.”

Last night, retired garda John Wilson, one of the whistleblowers who helped expose the failings within the force, welcomed Ms O’Sullivan’s comments.

However, in an interview on the Late Late Show he said that it remained to be seen whether the force was ready for genuine reform. He said his fellow whistleblower, Sgt Maurice McCabe, should be given back full access to the Pulse system.

Mr Wilson was also highly critical of Justice Minister Alan Shatter for his handling of the penalty points saga.

The interim commissioner was speaking at a graduation of Garda Reserves. Traditionally, the justice minister also attends, but a spokesperson said Mr Shatter could not attend due to a work “backlog”.

Ms O’Sullivan said a build-up of public trust is “an infinitely precious thing” bestowed on the force. She warned: “The public lends its trust to An Garda Síochána, but that trust isn’t permanent. It’s not even generational.

“The public trust has to be won and won again.”

Among the 21 female and 58 male Garda Reserve recruits graduates were Irish, Ukrainian, Chinese, Italian, Polish, and Romanian nationals.

There are now 1,133 fullyattested Garda reserves, along with 161 in training.