Drew Harris says being garda commissioner was ‘highlight of my career’

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Drew Harris has said he never liked the expression “outsider” being attached to him, and that being Garda Commissioner had been “a great privilege”.

Mr Harris’s term as commissioner is to end this month, with Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly set to take over from September.

At a garda graduation ceremony in Templemore, Co Tipperary, Mr Harris said they do not want to “leave any area feeling abandoned”, and that high numbers of gardaí would help people “see a difference”.

The former deputy chief constable of the PSNI was also asked about the perception of him joining the gardaí and how he reflects on it.

Mr Harris said, “I don’t really like the expression ‘outsider’; it’s an odd expression to apply to an individual who is Irish in the first place, and I’ve never liked it.”

He added he had 34 years of police service, most of which was at a senior rank, and that the experience was “the highlight of my career”.

He said: “When I was here, I was welcomed immediately and, in effect, brought into the organisation and understood the organisation very quickly.

“There’s things I wanted to do, and there’s certainly work that I had to do around the policing service for the future reforms, which had to be delivered.

“But I have to say again, my overall experience has been extremely positive. I’m very, very glad I put my application form in.”

He added, “It’s been a great privilege. I don’t regret one minute of it.”

He said in the past seven years, An Garda Síochána had moved on and focused on tackling certain crimes such as organised crime and crimes against the vulnerable, where he mentioned domestic abuse, serious sexual assault, and human trafficking.

He added: “These are all important areas, and actually areas of growth for policing and crime right across Europe, and we are seeing that we have to respond.

“So I think our response to that has been very positive, very professional, and we’re starting to see the organisation grow again, and that’s also very positive.”

Asked what he would do next, he said: “Well, I might rest and decompress for a while.”

Mr Harris highlighted that there are 14,400 garda members as he attended his final probationer graduation ceremony at Templemore on Friday.

A further 202 new students are to be taken in the new intake, meaning there will be almost 600 gardaí in training at the college.

The Justice Minister has set a target to recruit 5,000 new gardaí in the next five years, or an average of 1,000 a year.

Jim O’Callaghan said: “I suppose if you look at the 154 poll we’ve had now, including them, 423 since March, that’s 423 in six months.

“I suppose the most encouraging news when it comes to numbers is that on Sunday, 202 new recruits are going to start in Templemore. If we can get into a situation where there’s 200 starting in each intake, we’ll be in very strong position in terms of numbers.

“I’ve never underestimated the task in terms of trying to get 5,000 over the course of the five years. But it is my hope, and I’m optimistic about this, is that we will see more numbers coming in, and we get 200 coming in on Sunday, that’s a good sign.”

He said that a group within the Department of Justice is examining the possibility of a second garda college, but added that numbers would likely need to exceed 200 new recruits per intake to make it necessary.

Of the 154 probationers attested as sworn members on Friday, 122 are men and 32 are women, and 26 were born outside the state.