Senior gardaí to no longer decide on promotions within the force 

The Government is to introduce new regulations that will remove the traditional promotion process at garda and sergeant rank from garda management, in favour of a professional external service.  Picture: RollingNews.ie

Senior gardaí will soon no longer determine frontline career opportunities in An Garda Síochána as the process is put into the hands of a professional external service, under Government plans.

Garda management has traditionally played the determining role in the prospects of members at garda and sergeant rank as they go for promotion.

The process has long been a source of criticism, not least by the two main staff bodies — the Garda Representative Association and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors.

Now, Justice Minister Heather Humphreys has introduced new regulations which promise to “significantly reform” the promotion process for the key Garda ranks of sergeants and inspectors and pave the way for the promotion of hundreds of members of An Garda Síochána.

The minister said she has received Government approval for the Garda Síochána (Appointment to the Ranks of Inspector and Sergeant) Regulations 2021.

As a result, a new promotions and appointment process will be carried out under the remit of the Public Appointments Service for the first time, rather than managed internally in An Garda Síochána.

The Department of Justice said the new process will be “fair, modern, and transparent” and in line with the findings of the cultural audit undertaken by An Garda Síochána in 2018.

There are presently 266 vacancies at the rank of sergeant in An Garda Síochána and the new regulations will allow these new promotions to begin later this year.

The department said there will also be a competition for new inspectors in early 2022, where there are currently 57 vacancies.

Ms Humphreys said: "These new regulations deliver another key policing reform and will now allow for the promotion of hundreds of members of An Garda Síochána, beginning by the end of the year.

"The Government is committed to ongoing recruitment into An Garda Síochána as well as allowing for promotional opportunities within the service. Together, these moves will both strengthen An Garda Síochána with new recruits and increase supervision and mentoring within the organisation.” 

She said the restructuring of the promotion process for Garda sergeants and inspectors is a crucial action under 'A Policing Service for our Future' - the implementation plan for the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

"The new regulations have been finalised following extensive engagement between my Department, the Public Appointments Service and An Garda Síochána, and in consultation with the Policing Authority and the Garda Associations,” she said.

The new regulations follow the sanction last year by the Department of Justice for an increase in the number of sergeants and inspectors to create additional supervisory positions in An Garda Síochána.

This sanction will provide for total numbers in these ranks of up to 2,210 sergeants and up to 482 inspectors.

The department said that many of these inspector positions will facilitate the rollout of the new Garda operating model.

Other changes in the latest regulations include the introduction of a period of probation following promotion and the introduction of a time limit of five years within which candidates must have passed promotion exams.