The Justice Department has decided to push back the closing date for applications for a vital national security role due to insufficient suitable entries from domestic applicants. The Deputy Commissioner role responsible for law enforcement and security, the penultimate rank in An Garda Síochána, has remained unoccupied since March despite continued governmental efforts to appoint someone to the role.
The hefty tax burden on their retirement fund should they progress to a higher wage is a disincentive for senior members of the gardaí to apply. As such, the only eligible applications for this critical role have been from law enforcement personnel from foreign countries such as the USA, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
A month ago, the government made another attempt to occupy the position when it looked for candidates who have a keen understanding or the ability to comprehend the unique nature of law enforcement in Ireland. Ordinarily, a Deputy Commissioner role would be filled by someone of assistant commissioner rank, the subsequent senior garda rank. However, seven out of the eight current assistant commissioners declined to apply.
As per the understanding, the only individual to submit an application was Jonathan Roberts, the assistant commissioner in charge of governance and accountability. His 25-year tenure with the PSNI before his current appointment means the pension tax problem wouldn’t impact him.
If he gets the role which he applied for, all the top three garda ranks would be filled by officers outside the State. The Garda Commissioner role is currently held by Northern Ireland’s Drew Harris and Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon hails from Canada.
Recently, a group of assistant commissioners penned a letter to Mr Harris and the Policing Authority chairperson, Elaine Byrne, requesting a deadline extension in the hope of resolving the retirement fund tax deadlock. The application process was set to end at 3:00 PM on Thursday. However, not long before the deadline on Thursday afternoon, it was prolonged by another week.
Whether the government intends to sit down with the assistant commissioners during that week to address the pension issue remains uncertain. The Justice Department is yet to comment.
Six assistant commissioners originating from the Republic have expressed their dissatisfaction over the launch of a new recruitment contest before their grievances could be resolved. Gardaí are apprehensive regarding pension regulations that could subject them to substantial tax bills, potentially amounting to €300,000 for assistant commissioners and up to €500,000 for deputy commissioners, upon retirement.
Rules established in 2014 dictate that civil servants with pensions exceeding €2 million must pay tax on the total amount of their pensions, including the preliminary large sum payment. In certain instances, due to these regulations, high ranking gardaí may receive a reduced pension if they accept a better-remunerated role before retiring. They are advocating for some form of reduction on these pension-related taxation bills before considering more senior roles.
Earlier in this year, the government gave their word to review the tax system to address these issues. Upon the completion of this review, it was handed over to the Finance Minister; its recommendations are however yet to be made public.
A representative from the Department of Justice has confirmed an extension of the deadline by a week. He also shared that Justice Minister Helen McEntee intends to fill this post in the upcoming fall. The spokesperson said that Ms McEntee is cognisant of the concerns held by senior officers of An Garda Síochána, but the adjustment of the pension tax rests with the Finance Minister. Such a decision can only be judged as a component of the budgetary process presently in progress, he explained.
The Finance Minister is presently reviewing the recommendations and the government will deliberate on the next course of action in the coming weeks. It’s important to note that this tax law is applicable to all employees in the public and private sectors who are beneficiaries of a pension above a certain limit. The Department of Finance is responsible for dealing with this issue.