Tag Archives: Noirin O’Sullivan

Following the retirement of the Garda Commissioner yesterday, the Policing Authority has immediately commenced consideration and research on the process to identify and appoint the next Commissioner of the Garda Síochána. While section 9 of the Garda Síocháná Act 2005 sets out the statutory requirements, this will be the first time that the new legislative process is utilised. In practical terms, the Authority will be working with the Public Appointments Service and the Department of Justice and Equality over the coming weeks to agree the precise requirements for the role and to formally initiate the selection competition. The Authority’s chairperson spoke to the Minister for Justice and Equality about the selection process this morning and they agreed that it is crucial that a deliberate and considered process takes place to ensure the right candidate is selected.

Fine Gael spokesman on Justice in Seanad Éireann, Senator Martin Conway, has said the new Garda Commissioner should be appointed from outside the ranks of An Garda Síochána. Senator Conway said, “Following the retirement of former Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan, I believe that it is in the best interest of An Garda Síochána that the Policing Authority begin a process of headhunting an individual with a proven track record of implementing radical reform. “This process can run in tandem with an open competition- the clear objective being to find the right candidate to drive radical reform and restore public confidence in the senior management of the force. “It is not uncommon in private industry that a headhunting process is used to find the right person for a senior position such as this as there are many who may not express an interest through an open competition. “This has been a particularly difficult time for the ordinary men and women of An …

CLARE Garda Chief Superintendent John Kerin has said if it emerges that gardaí in this county contributed to the false reporting of one million fake alcohol breath tests, “maximum sanctions” will be applied. Politicians have called for the resignation of Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan in recent days following the latest garda scandal involving the recording, nationally, of one million breath tests that never took place. On Wednesday, Chief Superintendent Kerin told The Clare Champion that he did not yet have figures for Clare but accepted that fake breath tests are very likely to have taken place in the county. “We’re hoping to be given a breakdown about where this happened across the country and in what areas. I really don’t know the extent of it in Clare but if it’s a countrywide thing, there is no doubt it would have gone on in Clare. “If it has happened in Clare, I will be seriously hurt and disappointed. If I can …

THE appointment of the new Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan has been greeted warmly by her relations in Clare and by the local chief superintendent who said she will “drive change” in the force. Garda Commissioner O’Sullivan’s late mother, Betty (nee Coote), was a native of the New Road area of Ennis. Among her many relatives is former mayor of Ennis Mary Coote Ryan, a first cousin of Noirín’s late mother. Commissioner O’Sullivan’s grandfather, Johnny ‘Joker’ Coote was a well-known hurler and was a member of the Clare junior team that won the All-Ireland Hurling Championship final in 1914. Speaking about the commissioner’s appointment, Mrs Coote Ryan said, “My deceased brother, Paddy, would have been very friendly with her and would have been at her wedding and spent a lot of time going up and down visiting her and I know he thought the world of her. All the family are very proud of her and she deserves it. She worked …

Clare senator, Martin Conway, has urged the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald and the Acting Garda Commissioner, Noirin O’Sullivan, to consider the establishment of a website to keep victims informed about the status of their case. “Last year in the UK, Avon and Somerset police forces set up a website called TrackMyCrime, allowing people to follow the progress of their cases,” said the Fine Seanad Spokesperson on Justice, Disability and Equality. “TrackMyCrime allows victims of crime to access the progress of the investigation of their crime as well as contact the officer leading the investigation. The service is offered to victims of crime alongside all of our other methods of communication with notifications via email and/or text, alerting them to a message which they can securely access at a time and in a way that suits them.,” he explained. Senator Conway said the system automatically updates as police enter information on their computers, with emergency 999 call handlers …