Noirín O'Sullivan appointment Garda Commissioner

Larbre34 wrote: »

The Irish Times report that the Government have appointment Acting Commissioner Noirín O'Sullivan to the role on a permanent basis.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/noirin-o-sullivan-appointed-as-garda-commissioner-1.2014448

Well if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Hang on a minute...........

Larbre34 wrote: »

I take your point, but she has been impressive so far. It would take too long for a foreign appointment to begin to grapple with the endemic problems in AGS, so she can be an insider and still a good force for change.

Good luck to her, she shall probably need it.

How has she been impressive so far?

Massive opportunity missed here. More of the same lads, this is really going to boost the public perception of AGS

[Deleted User] wrote: »

18 months away. Any nothing to say it will change.

Didn't even hear a rumour about a new uniform..

Was anyone foolish enough to think it would go outside an Irish Candidate? Seriously?

The Gardai are our state security service – unlike other forces such as the PSNI and Police in the UK who have M15 to do this, the US which have the FBI, France who have the DSG etc etc. The only realistic non Gardai Police candidates would be UK police as we have similar investigation and justice systems. Does anyone honestly think we could ever have appointed someone who swore an oath of loyalty to the Queen of England (or insert other head of state here) could be the person responsible for State Security? Really? (Unless of course you weren’t keen on the idea of state security in the first place).

The only alternative is to decouple state security from the Gardai. As ever the next failure of the Irish Commentariat is to think that you couldn’t make things worse. You could – a small (in the Irish context it would be very small) state security agency would be both ineffective and potentially more dangerous then leaving it in the Gardai whose scale will offer some brake to the sorts of activities state security agencies get into. (Unless of course you weren’t keen on the idea of state security in the first place)

Finally I know this is the country of gross hyperbole where EVERYTHING in this country is a quadrillion times worse then (insert failed state here) but, you know, the scandals we’ve had in the Gardai pale into insignificance against pretty much any other western police force let alone the rest of the world. Whether it’s Paedophile rings run by the Belgian police (to a senior level), Irish People sent down for decades by the British Cops for the crime of being Irish, US cops shooting kids dead in the street, an ACTUAL rape in Paris special branch HQ etc etc etc the Gardai are probably the least worst in the western world by a distance. Penalty points, Bailey and even McBrearty and Donegal pale compared to this. Name a police force with proportionately less scandal! I’d be really interested. I’m not suggesting change is not needed but there is as usual in this country a complete absence of any perspective.

The Gardai’s formative period was during the troubles – that has led to the culture we have now with a some of the dysfunctional behaviours you get in any 11k employee organisation . It will take some time to change that culture (not just at the top) but I’ve more confidence in the new commissioner doing this then any of tax dodging, penalty points evading, semtex transporting TD’s deliberately undermining the Gardai for their own agenda.

0325422 wrote: »

Didn't even hear a rumour about a new uniform..

There's a committee set up amongst the staff associations, they have finalised a proposed uniform, which is still subject to Commissioner approval and finance, so it's a few years away, at best. If ever......

infacteh wrote:

She took the interim job, and told everybody the Guards had enough resources to police the State. A few months later the Inspectorate report comes out, stating AGS is vastly under resourced. Sounded like the typical political pandering we're all fed up with.

Exactly. It sounds like political pandering because it is.

If I'm not mistaken all appointments above the rank of Chief Superintendent are political appointments made by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Therefore, it can be said that any high ranking Garda has been influenced by the politicians and is affectively in their pockets, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten that lucrative promotion in the first place.

So, what actually needs to happen in order to achieve proper reform of the organisation? Simple-ish, The politicians need to be removed completely from the promotion procedure.

Noirin O Sullivan will give the impression of reform because that's what she has been told to do, she will make some progress but only as much as they decide. Ultimately, nothing significant will be done and the oligarchy will continue to fool the proletariat with small gestures of progress and empty promises.

She'll never bite the hand that feeds her...

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

In fairness it was advertised on the Public Jobs website like any other civil service position. I think it was also advertised in print media?

most people are finding it difficult to join the rank and file never mind the commissioner job..

The rash of opinions by anonymous nobodys who know exactly what needs to be done is bewildering. But there is no way to defeat that situation. Still the Selection Board have spared us the sight of Commissioner Mick Wright taking a Guard of Honour in a Teampall Mór inspection complete with 3 weeks stubble and his grubby pink Tshirt as a backdrop to the 'blue'.