‘Garda appointments should be removed from politics’

The Government is rejecting calls for an overhaul in how senior gardaí are appointed after being warned it is "indefensible" that the 200 most senior officers are approved by cabinet.

Independent TD Shane Ross has tabled a Dáil motion to create an “open contest” which will ensure gardaí are “appointed on merit” rather than as a result of a political process.

Recent controversies surrounding the administration of justice show that appointments must be “removed totally and utterly from the political arena and given to a body outside which has got some respect”, he said.