GRA members to be balloted on vote of no confidence in Garda Commissioner Harris

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris (Brian Lawless/PA)

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has announced that members will be balloted on a vote of no confidence in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the GRA came to the decision at a meeting on Wednesday.

The CEC cited what it said was the commissioner’s failure to address the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis and lack of appropriate training among some of the issues factoring into the choice to hold the vote.

The GRA represents almost 12,000 rank-and-file gardai.

The association has previously warned that recruitment and retention in the Garda is unprecedented in scale.

It has also expressed concern that the Government’s year-end target of adding 1,000 new gardai to the ranks will not be achieved.

The recent assaults on a US tourist and a Ukrainian actor in Dublin have prompted discussions about the safety of Irish cities and the need for an increased gardai presence.

Details about when the vote will be held have not yet been released.

At the meeting on Wednesday a further motion that a special delegate conference will be convened to discuss the result of the ballot was also passed.