Top garda posts to be filled shortly

Around a dozen senior appointments are to be made in the force before Christmas in a bid to fill vacancies that riddle the Garda top brass.

With Nóirín O’Sullivan now promoted to garda commissioner — after eight months of being the interim boss — the focus has now turned to shoring up posts at the ranks of superintendent, chief superintendent, assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner.

Interviews are under way to fill vacancies at superintendent and chief superintendent level. The Irish Examiner has learnt that seven or eight inspectors are expected to be promoted to superintendent rank before Christmas. A further four to five are also expected to have been promoted to chief superintendent by this stage.

However, it’s still not clear when the vacancies at the higher ranks are going to be decided, partly due to some uncertainty as to who will make the decision.

Under the provisions of the Garda Síochána Bill 2014 regarding the establishment of the new independent Policing Authority, the authority will have the power of appointing superintendents, chief superintendents and assistant commissioners.

Regarding the two deputy commissioners, as well as the commissioner, the authority will nominate people to the Government, which will have the final decision.

Currently, the Government makes the decision, based on recommendations, on ranks from superintendents above.

The two deputy commissioner positions — one operations and the other strategy and change management —are vacant.

Two assistant commissioners — John Twomey, assistant commissioner for Dublin Metropolitan Region and Donal O’Cualain, assistant commissioner for the Western Region — are filling the respective positions on an interim basis on top of their own duties.

The force is set to lose one of its most highly regarded assistant commissioners next year, with the departure of Tony Quilter from the Southern Region.

A former detective chief superintendent of the Garda National Drugs Unit, Mr Quilter is one of the most experienced operational detectives in the country, overseeing investigations into the major cocaine hauls off the Cork coast and operations targeting the McCarty -Dundon gang in Limerick.

A senior source said there was an urgency to fill the deputy commissioner and assistant commissioner jobs.

“There is no clarity about the process for assistant commissioner and deputy — when they are going to be held, who is going to run the competition or who is going to have the final say — the minister or the authority regarding the deputy and the commissioner or the authority for the assistant commissionerss,” he said,

There would be intense competition for the deputy commissioner positions, particularly for operations, which takes in the crime and security division the National Support Services, the six regional assistant commissioners and the Traffic Bureau.

Two contenders for the position would be Derek Byrne, assistant commissioner for National Support Services, which covers nationals units for serious crime, drugs and fraud, and John O’Mahoney, who is in charge of crime and security, which covers national security, criminal and dissident intelligence and protection units.