Garda Commissioner Drew Harris says he is ‘not leaving’, regardless of GRA vote outcome

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said he is not leaving the post, regardless of the outcome of a vote of no confidence in his leadership.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) last week confirmed it was moving ahead with the vote, after a crunch meeting with the commissioner. The association said it was disappointed with the meeting noting that Commissioner Harris had confirmed his intention to revert to the pre-Covid roster from November.

Speaking on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show, the commissioner said he is going nowhere. “In the first place, I have a job to do.

“I have a very important job to do and I have a lot of work left to do in my tenure which stretches out to 2025.

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“So, whatever the vote is, I’m not leaving. That was my initial reaction and indeed on reflection that still is my determination – to stay on and finish the job that I was employed to do.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar previously said commissioner Harris will not be removed from his position if members of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) vote no confidence in him.

“That won’t happen,” Mr Varadkar said. “The Government has confidence in Commissioner Harris. It’s not the case that the teachers in the staff room decide who the principal is. It’s not the case that the players decide who the coach is.

“The Garda Commissioner was appointed by the Government after a fair and free process that people can apply for, and we stand over that appointment and we have confidence in him,” Mr Varadkar said.

Mr Harris remains “absolutely determined” to end the contingency rosters for members of the force in early November, and will not be swayed by the tactics of the Garda associations, say sources familiar with the situation.

The Irish Times understands the commissioner was angered and “frustrated” by the GRA’s decision to put a ballot of no confidence in him to its members. He believes that vote, which is likely to pass, makes it harder to resolve the worsening dispute over the rosters issue.

“It means this becomes more entrenched, one side digging in and focusing on targeting a person rather than resolving an issue,” said one source.

Another said it appeared the GRA was “playing the man, not the ball”.

However, sources in the GRA said the commissioner’s approach was inflexible, with one describing it as “old school management” based on the assumption that because the commissioner was “the boss, he must be obeyed”.