Page 17 - COBH EDITION 5th APRIL DIGITAL VERSION

Drew Harris, the garda commissioner, has directed that those who decline to sign
will be ineligible for promotion but issuing threats to members isn’t going to work ei-
ther, particularly as many members would suggest that the promotion system itself
is flawed.

There has always been a perception that favouritism and nepotism flourish within
the organisation and this has long since been a serious bone of contention.

An editorial in the Garda Review advocated for an independent authority to separate
policing from politics. Not to deny our elected political leaders the opportunity to
debate and the right to legislate on policing, but so that they were not seen to exert
undue influence on appointments and operational matters.
It called for a level playing field for all and a meritocracy based on individual compe-
tency and skills, rather than personal connection. Sadly, we have repeated our con-
cerns that nepotism and ‘pull’ are alive and well, despite the buzzwords of ‘account-
ability’, ‘transparency’ and ‘independence’ that speckle every statement and paid lip
service in every round of competition.

The editorial further stated that this culture is near impossible to pin down and pro-
vide evidence for but equally, it is hard to refute. We still believe that an open, inde-
pendent transparent process to establish and appoint the most capable candidates
would signal a departure from the perceived cronyism of the past in the promotion
system

I remember when lists of those who were “successful in the competition for promo-
tion” were published, there were always nods, winks and heavy sighs when certain
names appeared. Many of the “successful candidates” could have been predicted in
advance of any list, based on family or political connections.
Patrick Horan, an ex-garda turned solicitor, wrote in the Irish Examiner a couple
of years ago that methods of promotion have sullied the honour of the force and
suggested that it has always been a truism that progression within the force was de-
pendent on two factors: Patronage and “team spirit”.

He maintained that everyone knew that when a job became vacant it wasn’t really
vacant, for it was already destined for some favourite candidate somewhere, a can-
didate who had shown the requisite degree of slavish obedience and an unthinking
determination to follow orders without question.

The dilemma then was to go through with the façade of the promotion process when
the chosen ones were already known or not to bother with it and then be accused of
not showing enough interest in advancement. The good old Catch 22.

Politics has always played a part in the promotion and movement of members of An
Garda Siochana. I remember back in the eighties, I was advised by an old hand,
to be careful when dealing with politicians, or anyone connected to them, or I could
find myself on Achill Island counting sheep.

I’m all in favour of providing instruction and training for all ranks regarding stan-
dards of behaviour, but simply signing a piece of paper won’t make a blind bit of
difference.