After an extended selection process peppered with missed deadlines, a handful of high-ranking members of An Garda Síochána have put forward applications for the position of Deputy Garda Commissioner. This comes on the back of a recruitment drive that has spanned almost a year to fill the country’s most critical security role. Many of the force’s top brass had previously been reluctant to apply, deterred by the possibility of significant tax impositions should they be selected.
The concern amongst experienced gardaí lies within the rules relating to their retirement pensions, established back in 2014. The legislation enforces a tax payable on any pension exceeding €2 million, inclusive of the initial lump sum. This could see the current deputy commissioners hit by tax bills amounting to €500,000, and assistant commissioners facing charges of up to €300,000 upon retirement.
The majority of applications to date have mainly been received from officers who have served the majority or entirety of their careers outside Ireland. The position, the second most senior in An Garda Síochána, encompasses the supervision of a broad range of areas including organised crime, national security, and terrorism.
The application deadline had been set for the past week, but was extended by seven days as few suitable candidates came forward. The extension was granted at the request of some high-ranking members of An Garda Síochána, who substantiated this with a written plea to Justice Minister Helen McEntee.
In the background, government officials have been working silently via backchannels to convince prospective applicants that a resolution to the tax issue will be forthcoming following the general election, expected this autumn. This has encouraged a subset of the assistant commissioners to complete their applications before the final deadline yesterday at 3pm.
However, sources have reported that these applications coming from the gardaí may be retracted if a resolution to the pension dilemma isn’t found shortly.