Reform of garda training proposed

Garda training should be reformed to better meet the needs of recruits with third-level education, according the Senator Maurice Hayes, who is chairing a new body established to advise senior gardaí.

Mr Hayes said he was hopeful the appointment of his four-man group, which will advise on management changes, would not lead to fears among senior gardaí that efforts were being made to civilianise their roles.

"What we are is four people who have experience of change in other large organisations and we will be informally mentoring Garda management on what they need to do to bring about the changes facing the force," he said.

One of the key challenges facing the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy at present was that he had recently assumed the accounting officer function within the force.

"He is responsible for expenditure across the board now, that's a huge change," Mr Hayes said. He believed he and his group could assist Mr Conroy and his senior managers in embracing change.

Similarly, he and his group would also assist in putting in place better succession planning to ensure many experienced senior officers did not all retire at the same time, which currently is a feature in senior ranks.

The other members of the new advisory group are: Emer Daly, former director of strategic planning and risk management with Axa Insurance; Maurice Keane, former group chief executive of the Bank of Ireland; and Dr Michael Mulreany, assistant director general of the Institute of Public Administration.

Mr Hayes previously chaired the An Garda Síochána Act implementation review group. One of its key recommendations was that police officers from other jurisdictions should be allowed to apply for senior Garda jobs in order to breathe new ideas into the force.

However, Mr Hayes said he believed such civilianisation should only be employed in order to free up "highly-trained gardaí" from positions that could be filled by civilians.

He was in favour of a Garda Reserve.

While the findings of the Morris and Barr tribunals had been "a blow" for gardaí it was his view that the public still believed the vast majority of gardaí were honest and hard working.