Radical reform of Garda structure proposed

Inspectorate and advisory group recommend appointing civilians to senior management positions Reports launch

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has said he expects "no significant resistance" from gardaí to the appointment of civilians to senior positions within the force.

Mr McDowell was speaking yesterday at the launch of two reports which recommend radical reform of the top management structure of the Garda with civilians appointed to posts up to deputy commissioner level.

The reports, from the Garda Inspectorate and the Garda Síochána Advisory Group, recommend the introduction of a civilian deputy commissioner to deal with administration and resource management, and a new post of assistant commissioner for professional standards.

The Garda Inspectorate report also recommends three new executive civilian posts, while the advisory group seeks accelerated recruitment of civilian support staff to release gardaí for operational duties.

The reforms offered the prospect of a "hugely enhanced policing service" and was a "major step" towards giving gardaí the support they needed to concentrate on operational policing duties, Mr McDowell said.

Some administrative work could be done by civil servants redeployed from other areas, he said, but more jobs would be outsourced to private agencies to ensure value for money.

He said he did not believe there would be any significant resistance from rank-and-file gardaí to the civilianisation process.

The Garda Representative Association had already expressed impatience at the level of civilianisation, he said, and the ratio of gardaí to civilians within the Garda was currently very low at around 10 to one.

"It is the norm in most police forces that senior administrative positions are carried out by civilian staff," he said.

Mr McDowell said he wanted to see gardaí freed up to use their skills and experience in policing duties. There was "no point in sending someone to Templemore" if they did not use the skills they learned there.

The public wanted a visible police force and "high-profile policing in any form is hugely helpful". He did not want to give the impression that gardaí who were largely involved in desk work were "somehow skiving off".

"I don't believe that the vast majority of motivated police officers, men and women, want to stay indoors," Mr McDowell said.

If any officers did lack the motivation to return to operational duties, "the commissioner will motivate them". Civilianisation could be achieved without undermining the Government cap on the number of civil servants, Mr McDowell said.

There would be opportunities for redeployment from other areas of the Civil Service and the decentralisation process was likely to produce potential candidates for these jobs, he said.

Not all the clerical work currently done by gardaí would be transferred to other full-time staff, however, and some jobs would be outsourced to other agencies so that the Garda Commissioner would get "the greatest bang for his buck", Mr McDowell said.

He said he would not be setting a defined ratio or time frame for civilianisation. He had "got into trouble with ratios" when he had spoken previously in relation to the Garda Reserve.

"I think we should just get on with the task ahead and not set theoretical, arbitrary targets . . . I think we should feel our way to a different balance," he said.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy welcomed the report and said he wanted to see gardaí out on patrol.

"The majority of people want to go out and do the police work they were trained to do. I would like to be able to go out tomorrow and release them. I want to see gardaí out in the communities patrolling the towns and cities."

The chief inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, Kathleen O'Toole, said she had extensive contact with members of the force in preparing her report and was "somewhat surprised" not to have met any resistance to her recommendations.

The proposals in the report were international best practice, she said, and the reception to them had been "overwhelmingly positive".