Gardaí must return to their old values
The easy option is to scapegoat a few officers, chop a few heads and hope that all will be well again but it’s not that simple.
The truth is that those policy-makers (politicians and senior officers) most culpable have long since left the stage. Back in the 1970s and ’80s, fundamental changes were implemented in the promotion system in the Garda Siochána with the emphasis on rapid promotion for the “bright young things” of the force. Experience and solid performance were no longer relevant in the rush to the top and while many good people made it through the ranks, there were too many self-made clones of senior officers who readily adapted to the new system, surviving and indeed thriving on cuteness rather than real ability or natural leadership - an essential ingredients for good management.
