Silence on number of applicants for Garda chief
The Public Appointments Service has declined to reveal details on applications for police chief.
The Policing Authority, for which the PAS is operating the competition, did not provide any details, either.
The PAS said: “In line with established practice, PAS makes no comment on any aspect of a recruitment and selection process, whilst it is underway.
A full and transparent report will be published on our website at the end of the process.”
Asked how many had applied and the breakdown between internal and external candidates, the Policing Authority said: “The Public Appointments Service are running this competition and they would be best-placed to respond to any queries.”
The Irish Examiner previously tried to establish who was on the selection panel. While the PAS was not in a position to give such information, both the Department of Justice and the Policing Authority confirmed that the PAS has asked each of them for representatives.
The commissioner job has a salary of up to €250,000. Some sources have speculated that at least four internal garda candidates have applied, with reports also suggesting that a number of applications may have been made by police officers in Scotland.
Internal candidates being mentioned are: Deputy Commissioner Operations and Security, John Twomey; Assistant Commissioner, John O’Driscoll, head of Special Crime Operations; Assistant Commissioner for Dublin Metropolitan Region, Pat Leahy; and Assistant Commissioner Northern Region, Barry O’Brien.
