Speech by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee at the Garda Chief Superintendents Annual Delegate Conference

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“President, Commissioner, Chief Superintendents,

Good afternoon, and thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.

I know your annual conference is an important date in the calendar and each year I look forward to the opportunity to meet with you. One of the great privileges of my role as Minister for Justice is to be able to speak to members of An Garda Síochána, at every rank and in every part of the country.

I am always encouraged by the professionalism, integrity and dedication of Garda members in every aspect of their work. These values come from the top of the organisation, and I commend Commissioner Harris for his dedication to this organisation and the people it serves. Those values are also reinforced every day by the leadership of An Garda Síochána, by all of you in this room.

There are challenges, but we are facing them together, and many have already been overcome. We have seen great progress this year across a number of areas of concern to Gardaí at all ranks, including rosters and public sector pay. The leadership and spirit of cooperation that you and your teams displayed during these important negotiations was absolutely essential, and is recognised across Government.

In recent days, your common sense approach and willingness to engage has been instrumental in achieving a proposal on a new Travel & Subsistence Scheme for Garda members which will now go to the Executives of the Associations for consideration.

These are just a few examples of where your leadership and strategic work is so vital to the organisation. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge how important this is and how much we all appreciated it.

For our part, the government has provided a series of record budgets for An Garda Síochána, including the highest ever allocation in 2024. Our shared ambition is to build stronger and safer communities everywhere in this country, and a stronger Garda organisation is at the core of that.

We are also dedicated to the development of the Garda estate. Between 2020 and the end of 2024, over €220 million is being invested in the Garda estate across the country. This investment is allowing for upgrade works and for a number of new Garda stations.

I have also secured a further €128 million for estates projects in 2025 and 2026 under the National Development Plan.

I want to ensure that all Garda members and staff have fit-for-purpose accessible facilities for them and for the communities they serve.

I am also committed to supporting digital transformation with the allocation of €155 million for digital capital investment and ICT this year.

The Garda Digital Strategy reflects the recommendations in the Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

Developments in digital capabilities ensure increased public engagement and better efficiency across the organisation.

The impact of this investment will be felt in communities right around the country.

We will continue to recruit more Gardaí, more Garda staff, and more Garda Reserves, and under your leadership I know these increased resources will make a real difference in communities right across the country.

I am very pleased to say that the extension of the retirement age for Gardaí from 60 to 62 came into effect yesterday, reflecting the government’s commitment to addressing issues of concern to all Gardaí, and to strengthening An Garda Síochána at every level.

Coupled with raising the recruitment age to 50 and the ongoing efforts to increase recruitment generally, I am confident that we will see the organisation continue to grow in the coming years.

There has also been intensive engagement with our government colleagues on the Supplementary Pension issue. I am pleased to say that as of August 1st, this issue was resolved through cooperation between my officials and their colleagues in the Department of Public Expenditure, to the benefit of Garda and public servants generally.

As you all know, the review of the Standard Funds Threshold has been completed and Minister Chambers is now considering the review and Government will consider the next steps in the coming weeks as part of the overall Budgetary process. My officials will also be engaging with your team and AGS in the coming weeks on the proposal for an indemnity scheme for Chief Superintendents and Superintendents. A lot of work has been going on to understand the scheme operated in the UK and the particular challenges arising in the Irish context.

This will inform the engagement in the coming weeks and I’m sure with your constructive input that solutions that better support you can be found.

I have also emphasised the importance of an early decision on an increase to the Availability Allowance with Minister Donohue and his officials and they have committed to an early decision as part of the local bargaining process.

This year we have seen An Garda Síochána respond to significant incidents of public disorder and violence, while continuing the daily work of protecting and serving communities.

Leadership in the face of these challenges is essential. Your ongoing efforts and tireless work are greatly appreciated and respected by me, my department, and by the communities you protect.

We are always working to further strengthen policing and protect individual members. As part of these efforts, I am glad to have brought forward legislation to enable the use of body-worn cameras by frontline Gardaí, and to increase sentences for assaults on Garda members.

I am also glad to have secured government approval for legislation to provide for the use of facial recognition in detecting serious crime, including rioting and violent disorder.

The pilot deployment of body-worn cameras is proceeding quickly, and I know that you will help to drive the national rollout next year. This new technology, along with facial recognition technology, will provide valuable new tools to An Garda Síochána.

Under your leadership, Garda members will use these new capabilities with the same integrity and respect for human rights that they have shown throughout the history of the organisation.

Garda members on the ground, whether facing attacks and abuse from a small, violent minority, or working face-to-face with the most vulnerable people in our communities, have always performed their duties with courage, dedication, and compassion. This reflects both the intrinsic values of the Garda organisation, and the strong leadership that has always provided morale at a senior level.

This strong leadership has been evident throughout the ongoing reform and strengthening of the organisation. As part of this process, earlier this year I enacted legislation to introduce a number of important reforms and enhancements to the way in which policing, security and community safety are governed and overseen in the State.

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 introduces a new approach to ensure modern and dynamic policing in Ireland. Final preparations are underway to allow me to commence the Act shortly.

Several years in formation, this legislation gives effect to a Programme for Government commitment and forms part of the wider policing reform programme.

We know that preventing crime and harm and making our communities safer does not rest with An Garda Síochána and my own Department of Justice alone - it will be most effectively achieved as a ‘whole of government’ responsibility with departments and agencies such as health and social services, education authorities and local authorities, the Gardaí and the wider community working together.

In recognition of this, the Act now makes community safety a whole of government and multi-agency responsibility.

It strengthens and consolidates independent, external oversight of An Garda Síochána and enhances the internal governance of An Garda Síochána by establishing a new non-executive board, which is a corporate governance standard across the public and private sectors.

It makes sense for an organisation of the size and complexity of An Garda Síochána to have a non – statutory board and the establishment of the board will bring many benefits to the organisation.

The Board, through the expertise and external perspective of its members, will provide practical support along with robust, constructive challenge to the Commissioner and his senior leadership team in An Garda Síochána.

The most complex Regulations being prepared in advance of the commencement of the Act are those to replace the current Discipline Regulations. My department has shared working drafts of the Conduct Regulations, Standards of Professional Behaviour Regulations and the Performance Regulations with all of the Garda Associations for your observations, and I look forward to continued collaboration in this area.

Early engagement is taking place so that you have an opportunity to effectively input into the ongoing drafting process on behalf of your members. There will be a further opportunity to provide your observations on the draft Regulations when they are ready in the coming weeks.

The aim of the new Regulations is to simplify the system to the benefit of both Garda members in general and An Garda Síochána as an organisation, including supporting managers and supervisors in their roles.

Garda members and their managers and supervisors need a system that is fair to all concerned, adheres to the principles of natural justice and that deals with cases expeditiously. I firmly believe that the new system will deliver on all those fronts.

The new Act transfers responsibility for the running of promotion competitions for Superintendent, Chief Superintendent and Assistant Commissioner from the Policing Authority to the Public Appointments Service. These senior appointments will then be approved by the Garda Board, following the PAS competition.

My department is working with PAS and An Garda Síochána in order to allow for the holding of competitions without delay on commencement of the legislation.

I understand that An Garda Síochána is preparing to rollout internal communications with information on some of the key changes being introduced by the Act for Garda members and for Garda staff. You will of course, be key facilitators and leaders in this communication with your teams across the organisation.

I know you have mentioned the Garda Powers Bill. This Bill will codify certain police powers and procedural rights of suspects. It will rationalise and modernise those powers to take account of developments in modern technology thereby providing greater clarity and transparency. On foot of two Supreme Court rulings, the Search Warrant portion of the Bill has been expedited, while other sections will follow in due course. Drafting of the Bill is continuing.

In terms of enhancing Garda operational effectiveness, the Bill will provide a statutory basis for the electronic recording of Garda interviews, the removal of the need to make a contemporaneous note of interviews as they take place, and providing for the custody record to be maintained electronically.

Part of being a leader means setting an example, and leading by example. The commitment given to the ongoing process of reforming and strengthening An Garda Síochána by senior management, and particularly at Chief Superintendent level, has been vital.

It is an example, not just within An Garda Síochána but across the whole public service, of embracing change and tackling tough problems head on.

The ongoing implementation of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, the rollout of the new Garda Operating Model, the rollout of GardaSAFE and many other initiatives are all part of this work.

Work that you are driving every single day and I want to acknowledge the work that you do on leading and implementing change.

One of the biggest pieces of this work, and one that you can all be especially proud of, is the well-advanced rollout of the new Operating Model, and the changes it brings to the Divisional structures for An Garda Síochána.

As you know, the Changing Policing in Ireland Report published by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate in 2015, first introduced the idea of strengthening the foundation of policing by reforming the structure of the Garda organisation.

This in turn became a key recommendation of the report in 2018 of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, and a key project in A Police Service For our Future. The progress made to date on roll out of the new Operating Model is a significant achievement for your organisation.

From releasing front-line Gardaí from roles that can be done by Garda Staff to developing a stronger focus on community policing, which I am very conscious is not currently operating with the numbers you would like, the Model will further strengthen all aspects of policing.

The Operating Model also provides for greater clarification in roles and the standardisation of processes across the country. It will allow for Divisional policing to be supported by regional and national led services, all of which are required to modernise and improve the organisation.

Despite challenges along the way particularly in relation to accommodation and staffing, the roll out to date has been successful. You and your colleagues have taken a key leadership role in overcoming these, because you recognise the need for and benefits of modernising policing services and activities.

16 of the 20 new Divisions are now in place, including all the Divisions in the Southern Region.

We can look forward to the remaining Divisions being stood up in the near future, at which time the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Act 2022 will be commenced, providing a statutory footing for the new structures.

I know that all of you, as leaders of the organisation, will see this final phase through as you have with everything that has already been accomplished, and my department will continue to work closely with you to ensure a smooth transition.

You are rightly proud of the tradition and culture of community engagement and community policing that is so central to work that you do.

The Garda Band is, quite rightly, a valued part of the organisation that has done so much to boost morale internally and is such a positive way to engage with communities up and down the country.

You have raised your concerns with me over the future of the Band and I am committed to working with all concerned to find a sustainable model for the future that respects its proud history and contribution to community engagement and I look forward to engaging with you further as this work progresses.

Before I finish, I want to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your everyday acts of leadership.

An example of this was highlighted when Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland spoke publicly last month about the recent successful seizures of drugs being brought into Ireland.

Chief Superintendent Boland emphasised the importance of these seizures, not just in disrupting international crime, but in protecting vulnerable communities and individuals here in Ireland.

This work, done every day by Garda members, requires robust and reliable leadership. It needs the kind of consistent, determined, and strong leadership that Seamus provides in the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, and that every Chief Superintendent provides, over every part of An Garda Síochána’s work.

Our communities are safer and stronger, because An Garda Síochána is always there. Members of the public, our friends, relations, and neighbours, are safer, because An Garda Síochána is always there.

Because community policing, in the truest sense, is at the core of the organisation’s work. And because it is at the core of how the organisation is led.

As leaders, your work covers the full range of what Gardaí do. On behalf of the whole government, I want to extend my thanks to you, for the leadership you show, and the organisation you have helped to build and drive forward.

As recent years have shown, new challenges are constantly emerging. But as you, and the women and men you lead have shown, you are ready to meet those challenges. And the government is ready to meet them with you. Together, we will continue to protect people and build stronger safer communities.

I look forward to working with Commissioner Harris, with you and all the other representative bodies to achieve these goals, and may I wish you a successful and enjoyable conference.”