GRA seeks 'urgent' meeting with Drew Harris over Ennis comments

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris during a press briefing marking 25 years of the Criminal Assets Bureau at Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney

The Garda Representative Association has requested an urgent meeting with the Garda commissioner to seek clarity on comments made during a Joint Policing Committee meeting.

Comments made by Commissioner Drew Harris regarding discretion and preference are “unclear and wholly unacceptable”, the GRA said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

GRA interim general secretary Philip McAnenly said the comments were made during a meeting in Ennis, Co Clare, in response to questions from Fianna Fail TD Cathal Crowe.

According to the GRA, Commissioner Harris said: “The difficulty is the difference between discretion and preference. I would say to every member of An Garda Síochána that properly exercising discretion is available to you, but make sure it is not preference. Preference is unfair. Everyone must be treated equally before the law.” 

Mr McAnenly said the use of the phrase 'preference' in policing terms is "wholly unacceptable”. “Our members need immediate clarity on the commissioner’s comments and his clear definition of the term ‘preference’ in relation to the use of garda discretion,” he said.

GRA president Frank Thornton previously tried to meet with Commissioner Harris to discuss these matters, and his request was declined, the statement said.

“We now believe that Commissioner Harris’s comments regarding somehow drawing the line between the use of 'discretion' and ‘preference’ are vague, and has led to confusion among our members,” Mr McAnenly said.

The statement concluded: “The GRA will not be commenting further on this matter until the Commissioner responds to this request.”