Niall Collins
Question:611. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice the number of members of An Garda Síochána by rank who previously worked for the PSNI; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4772/22]
View answerTuesday, 1 February 2022
Questions (611)
Written answers
I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána, but I have not received this information in time. I will write to the Deputy as soon as the information is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to your Parliamentary Question No. 611 of 1 February 2022 where you sought: “The number of members of An Garda Síochána by rank that previously worked for the PSNI.”
As you will recall, I had sought the information you requested from the Garda authorities and undertook to contact you again once the information was to hand. I have received a report from the Garda authorities and the information requested is outlined below.
Current legislation provides that nationals of an EU Member State, an EEA State, the United Kingdom or the Swiss Confederation are eligible to apply to join An Garda Síochána as recruits, or to join the Garda Reserve, through the normal competitions.
The Garda Síochána Act 2005 also provides for the direct recruitment, by way of open competition, of members of the PSNI into An Garda Síochána at certain senior levels, i.e. Superintendent, Chief Superintendent and Assistant Commissioner. There is also provision for the limited–term secondment of PSNI officers under certain circumstances.
The Garda authorities inform that currently within An Garda Síochána there is 1 Commissioner, 1 Assistant Commissioner and 4 Superintendents, who had previously worked for the PSNI.
The recruitment and selection process for these senior positions was undertaken by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) on behalf of the Policing Authority.