Cabinet extends Drew Harris' tenure as Garda Commissioner to 2025

He was the first person from outside the jurisdiction to be appointed as Commissioner and also became a member of An Garda Síochána on his appointment.

There had been speculation, including at senior level within the force, that the former PSNI deputy chief constable might be in the frame for the top job in the London Met.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has been given more time in the job to implement the biggest restructuring of the organisation since its foundation a hundred years ago.

The Cabinet agreed on Tuesday morning to extend his five-year contract by almost two years, pushing out his tenure to June 2025. At that stage, he will have reached the age of 60, which is the mandatory retirement age for all gardaí at the rank of assistant commissioner up.

There had been speculation, including at senior level within the force, that the former PSNI deputy chief constable might be in the frame for the top job in the London Met given widespread reports that British authorities were keen for an external police chief.

It is thought there were discussions with the Policing Authority before the Government's decision was made. His extension comes amid a looming mass departure at senior levels of the organisation, with three of the eight assistant commissioners to retire by June.

At least two more assistant commissioners are expected to retire on age grounds in the second half of the year and the current Assistant Commissioner Security & Intelligence Orla McPartlin, who was given a two-year extension, is due to go next January.

There are also reports that one of the three deputy commissioners may also be retiring. The fact that Commissioner Harris will be in the job until June 2025 is likely to impact on the prospects of those at assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner ranks of going for the No.1 position if they will be nearing 60 by then.

Commissioner Harris was appointed in September 2018, on a contract of €250,000. His appointment coincided with the publication of the Commission on the Future of Policing report, which set out a blueprint for wholesale reform of the force.

The Government’s four-year implementation programme, A Policing Service for the Future, was published in December, with a projected completion date of December 2022.

Various issues and Covid have delayed that ambitious programme and the related Operating Model – Commissioner Harris’s flagship restructuring plan – has also been slower than expected to be rolled out across the country.

Several pieces of legislation to implement reforms are at various stages and the most fundamental of those bills – the General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill – is at the initial stages in the Oireachtas.

Announcing the Cabinet’s decision, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said: “The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, is rightly held in high esteem by the public and is widely acknowledged as having done an exemplary job since he was appointed in September 2018.” 

She said: “As well as his role in leading our national policing and security service, the Commissioner has introduced very significant reforms and driven the ongoing programme of reform in An Garda Síochána.” 

The Minister said the organisation was currently entering “a critical phase” with the rollout of the new operating model, and the forthcoming passage and implementation of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill.

“The extension of the Commissioner’s term of office will bring a welcome clarity and continuity of leadership to An Garda Síochána through the vital period ahead. I look forward to continuing to work with the Commissioner over the coming years.” 

Commissioner Harris was appointed following an international recruitment competition run by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Policing Authority and took up duty on 3 September 2018.

He was the first person from outside the jurisdiction to be appointed as Commissioner and also became a member of An Garda Síochána on that day.

His original five-year term of office had been due to expire in September 2023. Following today’s Government decision he will now be in a position to serve until 1 June 2025.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors welcomed the announcement, saying: “We need continuity and implementation of ongoing transformation projects” 

The association described the decision as “prudent and proactive.” Speaking this afternoon, General Secretary, Antoinette Cunningham said: “We are emerging from two years of significant disruption due to the pandemic, but similarly major disruption to the Garda organisation’s transformation plans. 

"There is much work to do and so continuity of service, we believe, is vital right now.” 

President Paul Curran referred to two major areas of reform underway in the force.

He said: “As the representative body that advocates for 2,500 Sergeants and Inspectors, we look forward to our continuing working relationship with Commissioner Harris until 2025. There are many ongoing issues to work through.

“Our members require consistent leadership as we continue to reform from within. Today we address the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice on the Policing, Security, and Community Safety Bill and we are engaging on the ground in relation to the Operating Policing Model.

“Today’s decision, therefore, is both prudent and proactive on the part of Government and we welcome the decision.”